I support the idea of POTUS offering this olive branch for optical reasons, as much as I've been deriding the NFL kneelers. If they're TRULY sincere about their protest and name individuals who deserve pardons and clemency, it will allow them and the NFL to save face and finally put an end to the protest nonsense.
If they're NOT sincere about it, POTUS has just called their bluff. Think of how bad the optics would be if the kneelers went into mental gymnastics to reject/deride his offer or spin it in some kind of MSM-bait trap. Ordinary NFL fans would vilify the kneelers for not offering their cooperation, further gutting the NFL's finances and viewership. By that point, you'd have coaches and managers outright FIRING kneelers. Trump would still come out the better man in that scenario.