ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy said free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick is not a good enough player to be worth the "distraction" of a team signing him to play.
"It's a lot more than just he's not on the team because he doesn't want to stand for the national anthem," McCoy said Thursday. "That may have something to do with it, but I think also it has a lot to do with his play. I'm sure a lot of teams wouldn't want him as their starting quarterback. That chaos that comes along with it, it's a lot.
"As a team, trying to win and not have a distraction on the team, I just take that as a player -- there's certain players that could be on the team with big distractions, and there's other players that it's not good enough or not worth it. I think his situation is not good enough to have him on the team with all the attention that comes along with it. I'm sure if a guy like [Tom] Brady or a guy like whoever is your favorite player -- Odell Beckham or a guy like that -- you'll deal with that attention and play him."
McCoy was asked how Kaepernick's situation compares to that of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick, who became a Philadelphia Eagles teammate of McCoy in 2009 after spending time in prison on federal dogfighting charges.
"He's 10 times better than Kaepernick," McCoy said of Vick. "You'll deal with that situation, that attention, that media aspect of it. The good, the bad attention you'll get. Compared to Kaepernick, it's like, he's not really that good [enough] of a player to deal with.
"So people outside of sports don't really know that. They see only one side of black guy standing up for a good reason [and] the NFL is against him, but I think it's more than that. I think it has to do with some of that. But also, dealing with him with him on the team you're trying to build together. There's so many outsiders [that] can mess up a team. I can see both sides, I really can."
McCoy opined Thursday that Kaepernick, who remains unsigned as the start of the regular season approaches Sept. 7, would not make the roster of "certain teams" in the NFL.
"You just got to look at all sides," McCoy said. "Like, if I'm an owner or the GM of a team, do I want to put him on my team? Is he good enough to be on the squad, to even deal with everything that's going on? That's something that I don't really partake in."