Jon Gruden is right. It's surprising Colin Kaepernick doesn't have a job. It's surprising that no one is even giving him a look. It's ridiculous that he isn't even being considered as one of the best 64 quarterbacks on the planet.

Somebody should give him a shot, and I have just the team:

The Bucs.

I don't want to hear about how he last looked in San Francisco. (Which, by the way, wasn't as awful as you might think.) I don't want to hear about systems and right fits and all that junk.

Bottom line: here's a 30-year-old quarterback who took one team to the Super Bowl and another team to the NFC Championship Game. Don't tell me he's not worth inviting to training camp for a look.

Ah, but we all know why no one is giving him a chance. It's because he dared take a knee during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice in this country.

Now that's a polarizing topic. We can go around and around on whether he had the right (he did), and whether it's wrong to blackball him for his stance (it is). You can say how he doesn't have the right to protest on company time even though it didn't affect his performance and the company (the NFL) doesn't have a problem letting players protest the anthem.

And, oh, while we're at it: does anyone really think there isn't racial injustice in this country?

But even if you disagree with his protests, maybe you need reminding: he stopped the whole kneeling thing. He put his money and time behind his protests. And now he just wants to play football.

Why shouldn't the Bucs give him a look?

Yes, Jameis Winston is the team's starter, but we're not talking about Tom Brady here. There are still questions about Winston and whether he is a franchise quarterback. What's the harm in bringing in a little competition? Besides, we still don't know if Winston will be suspended to start next season because of the whole Uber allegations.

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been re-signed as a potential backup and he did a capable job, going 2-1 in starts Winston missed last season. And Ryan Griffin will return after missing 2017 with an injury. But do you want Fitzpatrick or Griffin playing a half season if Winston goes down for that long?

Here's the thing: The best-case scenario is Kaepernick comes in, wows everybody and gives the Bucs an upgrade at backup quarterback. Just as good: he comes in, plays well during the preseason and you trade him for a high draft pick to a team that needs a QB. The worst-case scenario is he comes in, plays like horse manure and you cut him.

It's totally worth the risk, even if it means proving Jon Gruden right.