Randy Moss respects Colin Kaepernick’s leadership

On Wednesday, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Randy Moss spoke with the Bay Area media. Since he’s been with the Niners, his public comments and media time have been fairly limited.

With this week’s game against the New England Patriots, there was a special interest in speaking with Moss this week. Oddly enough, the most interesting thing Moss had to say had absolutely nothing to do with his former team. Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area was able to ask Moss about his rapport with quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

It looks like you have a good rapport with Colin Kaepernick, on and off the field. What impresses you most about him?

I think his ability to be able to come off the bench and lead a team. I think that’s most important because, no disrespect to Alex (Smith), I think most backup quarterbacks as young as he is are waiting in the shadows just kind of like Aaron Rodgers was with Brett Favre. And I’m not comparing Alex and Brett, or Aaron Rodgers and Kap, but I think most second-year quarterbacks are just waiting in the shadow and just waiting to get their shot.

I think Kap’s been able to come in and just lead us as a whole unit. Anytime a guy can come in and lead like that, and I don’t mean verbally, but leading by example is what we us as football players look for in a player. Especially in a quarterback. So I really just compliment his leadership and going out there and leading our offense up and down the field.

It was interesting to hear Moss reference that comparison, because at the least, that means he truly believes Kaepernick is a capable successor. It also speaks to Kaepernick's overall character, that as a second-year player with only 4 career starts, he was able to command the respect of a future first ballot Hall of Famer.

It's a great sign for the future. The team is going to continue to bring players in as the years go on, and they will have to fall in line. Kaepernick's so-called leadership by example is a great asset to have on the offensive side of the football.

So far, Moss has had no complaints and seems to like the style of the young quarterback. At the end of the day, this was a strong endorsement from No. 84.

For the entire transcript of Randy Moss' discussion, head over to Eric Branch's blog at the San Francisco Chronicle.

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