Count former Jets head coach Rex Ryan among those who wouldn't be in favor of having Colin Kaepernick on his team.
Kaepernick, who has basically been blackballed from the NFL since 2017 due to his outspokenness and actions while protesting and drawing attention to police brutality and social justice, worked out Saturday for interested teams -- including the Jets.
"The NFL doesn't have to have this kid play," Ryan said Monday during an appearance on Get Up on ESPN.
Ryan then briefly talked about how Kaepernick looked during his workout before explaining why he wouldn't want him on a team he coached.
"As a coach, you don't want the circus in your locker room," Ryan said. "But I'm sorry, but that's what it is. Is it gonna be worth all the extra media? You're gonna have a backup quarterback having press conferences and all those types of things. And part of being a backup is accepting your role. You push the starter but you accept the role as a backup."
After the workout, Kaepernick spoke with reporters on hand, saying that he's 'been ready" and is "staying ready."
An NFL executive at the workout said Kaepernick's arm looked "elite," according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
If a team signs Kaepernick, it will likely be as a backup. And that's something that concerns Ryan, in addition to the "circus" he says Kaepernick would cause.
"Is he gonna be happy in a backup role? Are his people? All I hear him say is 'we did this, we or whatever.' Him and his whole entourage is gonna come in. As a coach, I don't want it -- I can promise you that," Ryan said.
Kaepernick's protesting, which included kneeling during the national anthem, began during the 2016 season as a commentary on social justice, and increased in 2017 after president Donald Trump said players who kneel should lose their jobs and referred to them as "sons of bitches."
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he's fired. He's fired," Trump said.
Several Giants knelt during the anthem at different points in 2017, while Jets players locked arms.