Lions' new owner willing to sign Kaepernick

Upon taking over as controlling owner Tuesday, Sheila Ford Hamp said she won't stop the Detroit Lions from signing Colin Kaepernick.

"If our coaches and our general manager all think it's a good idea to bring him in, I would completely support that," she told reporters.

Kaepernick last played in the NFL in 2016, the year he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest systemic racism and police brutality. Support for him has grown recently amid nationwide protests against the injustices he attempted to bring to light.

Ford Hamp said she wouldn't kneel during the national anthem, but doesn't have an issue with players who do. Her mother and previous controlling owner, Martha Firestone Ford, asked players not to kneel during the national anthem in 2018.

"First of all, I think the understanding is completely different now," Ford Hamp said. "I think most people really understand what the kneeling was all about. I know that the commissioner has said and I completely agree that we support our players' right to peaceful protest, we support the First Amendment. I think this has really, finally, finally, thank goodness, gotten national attention that this is a serious problem and we as an organization plan to listen to our players and support them any way we can."

Despite her willingness to approve the transaction, the Lions could still be a long shot to sign Kaepernick. Detroit has an established starter in Matthew Stafford, and signed Chase Daniel to a three-year, $13.05-million contract in free agency to back him up.