Jaguars Prove Colin Kaepernick 'Deserves A Job,' Jenkins Says Following Reid Callout

Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Malcolm Jenkins took aim at quarterback Blake Bortles by claiming the Jacksonville Jaguars proved Colin Kaepernick deserves a job.

His comments come after Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid labeled Jenkins as a "sellout" after their win over the Eagles on Sunday. Reid took issue with the agreement between the Players Coalition, which Jenkins is the leader of, and the NFL last November, where nearly $100 million will be donated to African-American causes.

The agreement came from negotiations over protests by players during the national anthem. It was Kaepernick, of course, who was the first to protest against racial inequality during the national anthem in 2016 and has not played in the NFL since last year, with no team offering the former quarterback a contract.

Reid notably followed Kaepernick, teammates at the time for the San Francisco 49ers, in protesting but would quit the group before the agreement was announced. On Sunday, claimed Jenkins "co-opted the movement that was started by Colin to get his organization funded."

Jenkins on the other hand, believes the two issues are separate and spoke out on the issue by taking a dig at his team's next opponents in the Jaguars, who they will play this Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London.

"While our main focus is always on the community and those systemic oppressions, how we can leverage our relationships, our access and resources to help people in everyday communities, there is still a responsibility to speak out on Colin Kaepernick, who started this movement and still doesn't have a job," Jenkins said, as quoted on ESPN. "I wholeheartedly believe he is being blackballed, to speak out in support of Eric Reid, who put his job on the line to fight for those who didn't have a voice."

"I have always maintained every chance I get to say, Colin Kaepernick started this, Eric Reid deserves a job, Colin Kaepernick deserves a job. I can turn on the tape this week on our opponent [Jaguars] and see Colin Kaepernick deserves a job. But at the end of the day, when I started this, my personal journey to help my own communities, it was never about the NFL or anybody having a job in the NFL. It was about people -- everyday citizens where I come from, where I live in Philly, and all across this country. And so at the end of the day, my decisions will always be about people."

With Kaepernick being a quarterback, Jenkins is certainly taking a dig at Bortles, who has struggled this season so far for Jacksonville. As noted by the Washington Post, Kaepernick even boasts better stats than Bortles:

"Over the same number of career appearances in NFL games, 69, Kaepernick has better marks in such categories as: record as a starter (28-30 to 24-44); completion percentage (59.8 to 59.3); touchdown-to-interception ratio (72-30 to 99-72); adjusted yards per attempt (7.31 to 6.22); and rushing yards per game (33.3 to 23.6)."

It will be interesting to see how Bortles, who was benched midway through last week’s defeat against the Houston Texans, responds on the field.