Joe Namath: Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid Should Be Signed; Protests Not Harmful

Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath has offered his support for Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid to be signed by NFL teams.

Appearing on Thursday's Varney & Co. on Fox Business Network, Namath was asked about the former San Francisco 49ers players' going unsigned.

"I think in Eric's case—and even Kaepernick's case—they are good enough players to be out there and having a job," he said, via Julia Limitone of FoxBusiness.com. "Why aren't they? I don't know."

Namath added he doesn't think the NFL's drop in ratings last season should be attributed to players' protests during the national anthem.

"The professional sport of football is going to stay and going to continue to grow," he said. "It's a great sport. People love the game."

NFL television ratings declined nearly 10 percent from 2016 to 2017, per Sports Illustrated's Daniel Rapaport.

Kaepernick, who has been unsigned since opting out of his deal with the 49ers in March 2017, and Reid have filed separate collusion grievances against the NFL.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano, Reid hired Mark Geragos, who also worked as Kaepernick's attorney, to represent him in his case.

Kaepernick began the movement of player protests when he was seen sitting on a bench during the national anthem prior to a preseason game in August 2016. He later started taking a knee as a form of protesting racial injustice and police brutality, and Reid joined in the effort.

Since the NFL's free-agency negotiating period began March 12, Reid's only meeting was with the Cincinnati Bengals on April 9.

In 13 games with the 49ers last season, Reid finished third on the team with 67 total tackles and tied for third with four tackles for loss.