Before Colin Kaepernick was Blackballed...He was DOMINANT | Bomani Jones & Charles McDonald

Before Colin Kaepernick was Blackballed...He was DOMINANT | Bomani Jones & Charles McDonald

From The Right Time with Bomani Jones by Wave

August 18, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

Bomani Jones and Charles McDonald discuss Colin Kaepernick's football career and legacy a decade after his protest.

Bomani Jones is joined by Charles McDonald to kick off a historical retrospective series looking back at Colin Kaepernick, a decade after his initial protest. In this episode, Bo and Charles refocus the conversation on a frequently forgotten element: just how good of a football player Kaepernick truly was. They trace his trajectory from his breakout college days at Nevada running the pistol offense to being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.123The duo breaks down Jim Harbaugh’s high-stakes mid-season decision to replace Alex Smith with Kaepernick, a move that instantly raised the team's ceiling and altered the strategic landscape of the NFL. They relive the historic, record-setting playoff game against the Green Bay Packers and explore the widespread proliferation of the zone read option across the league. Bo and Charles also analyze the subsequent challenges, front-office tension, coaching changes, and roster downgrades that defined the later years of his career. Ultimately, they evaluate his final seasons under Chip Kelly, his standing as a clear starting-caliber signal-caller, and his lasting legacy as a historically significant figure in modern football history…

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