Montana attributes Kaepernick's unemployment to playing style

Joe Montana doesn't seem bothered by Colin Kaepernick's inability to land a new NFL contract. In fact, it makes perfect sense to him.

While some claim Kaepernick's acts of protest have led to his unemployment, the Hall of Famer believes his fellow former San Francisco 49ers quarterback's playing style doesn't jell with the NFL's current state.

"That style of quarterback, everybody thought was going to take over the NFL," Montana told For The Win's Charles Curtis on Tuesday, referring to Kaepernick's tendency to play outside the pocket. "You look at guys who had success in college, that only had success one year. Usually those guys, the next year, it's very difficult on them."

Kaepernick looked like he was on his way to becoming a star when he broke through as a starter in 2012 and 2013, using his legs as his primary weapon, but struggled in the following three seasons.

"The league has figured out how to defend it," said Montana. "If I'm playing defense, I want the quarterback to run so I can hit him. In the pocket, you can't really hit him. So you look at Tim Tebow - he's a great guy, does a lot of great things. But when you complete 40-something percent of your passes, even in the low 50s, you're not going to make it."

Kaepernick's completion percentage has never dipped below 58.4 percent over a season in his six seasons, though his career high is only 62.4 percent.

Montana admits he has some admiration for Kaepernick's protest of the national anthem, but he understands how those demonstrations could affect the quarterback's job prospects as well.

"I'm sure there are some distraction issues," Montana said. "When we were playing with Bill Walsh, if you were a distraction, he didn't care how good you were, if you didn't mix in with the team, you weren't there very long."