Starting five years ago, the NFL wrongfully colluded against Colin Kaepernick. Five years of collusion later, the NFL has won.
It’s over for Colin Kaepernick. There’s no way that any team will sign him at this point, not after he has gone half of a decade without playing football of any kind.
Yes, he posted a workout video on Thursday. Sure, Schefty quoted an anonymous source who says Kaepernick is in the best shape of his life. (It’s unclear why anonymity is needed for that specific piece of information; it’s hardly a state secret.) It’s still not happening.
I’m a realist. The ability of the NFL to shun Kaepernick for five years slams the door on any effort to return now. If no team was willing to sign him in 2017, 2018, or 2019, no one will be signing him three years later.
It’s not happening. Why would anyone want a quarterback who hasn’t played in five years, especially in light of the inevitably hostile reaction from 30 percent of the fan base if he’s signed at this point?
Is it wrong that he was frozen out for so many years? Yes. Were some in the media complicit in spreading bullshit narratives that allowed teams to justify ignoring him? Absolutely. Regardless, five years removed from his decision to opt out of the last year of his 49ers contract — at a time when the 49ers otherwise would have cut him — it’s over. It’s done. The door has been closed in his face for five years. It’s not opening now.
The Seahawks were the only team to bring Kaepernick in for a visit. They opted not to add Kaepernick to a depth chart led by Russell Wilson, possibly because the team that supposedly embraces competition didn’t want Wilson to have any. Now that Wilson is gone, there’s no impediment to signing Kaepernick.
They won’t. It’s been too long. It’s over. While it would have gotten interesting if former 49ers coach (and Kaepernick advocate) Jim Harbaugh had gotten the Minnesota job, Harbaugh remains at Michigan. Kaepernick remains out of the NFL. That will continue.
At this point, does Kaepernick really want to play? In 2017 and 2018, I think he did. The clumsy and clunky league-organized workout controversy from 2019 strongly suggested that the NFL doesn’t trust Kaepernick, that Kaepernick doesn’t trust the NFL, that neither side is genuinely interested in doing business with the other.
Although Kaepernick previously wanted (and deserved) a contract well in excess of the league minimum, at this point it makes plenty of sense for any team that wants Kaepernick to offer him a bargain-basement contract, if only to see whether he’d take the job. Would he call the bluff? We won’t know until the bluff is made.
It would be stunning if anyone even makes the bluff, regardless of whether Kaepernick would call that bluff. The Kaepernick ship has sailed, and the league’s ability to successfully shun him for five years makes his return to the league at this point incredibly unlikely.
Meanwhile, the quarterback currently at the top of the depth chart in Pittsburgh is Mason Rudolph.
Meanwhile, the quarterback currently at the top of the depth chart in Pittsburgh is Mason Rudolph.
…and the qb atop the d.c. depth chart is carson wentz.
this is the best news I’ve heard today lol
Jeepers creepers I knew that 5 years ago.
It has been closed for 5 years…
Even as the nukes fall we’re still going to think Kap is a good QB.
“his decision to opt out of the last year of his 49ers contract”
Good. He doesn’t deserve a chance.
You have zero idea if a team would sign him. Steelers could use the guy and have the balls to do it.
You’re way too low on that 30%.
He was done when he started kneeling.
He’s got like a 1% fanbase…. for whatever reason.
Are you implying that Seattle didn’t sign Kaepernick previously because they were afraid of the competition he would present to Russell Wilson? That’s certainly a unique take.
You make your bed, you lie in it. Let’s not forget he had offers, and he/girlfriend torpedoed them.
He had opportunities with the Broncos and Ravens as well. Way before the Seahawks. He overvalued himself with Denver and his GF ran her mouth before the Ravens deal could happen. Shunned laughable.
When I show up for work, it’s about work. That’s why I still have work.
“Colluded”. No, he did it to himself with his behavior and antics. Turning down deals also didn’t help. There was no collusion.
He made his own choices, and you are way off on your “30%” estimate. No owner would sign him because probably 70%-80% of the fans would boo him every time he touched the ball. Why would any sane owner sign someone who is going to be hated by the majority of the fan base? If he was a great QB, maybe some team would have signed him, but he was a borderline starter at best at the end. Did you forget he was benched for Blaine Gabbert. Yes, Blaine Gabbert.
It’s never been about his ability but the media typhoon that accompanies this guy. Like every player that gets judged, is the headache worth the production?
No. It’s on Kaepernick to state, “I’d love a chance to sign for league minimum and come out and compete in camp”.
If Kap had wanted to play football again why did’nt he go to the CFL 4 or 5 years ago ? Seems to me that he really doen’t care about playing ball anymore
Funny the NFL has rebounded in the ratings from that fiasco. Maybe the “business” decision was the smart and better route for the League?
I would rather see Dan Snyder as Commissioner than Kaepernick on a practice squad
Watched him tear a good 49er team apart then have a very late off season surgery to keep from being released. Was beat out by Blane Gabbert. THEN wanted top tier starter to be signed. Steelers probably his only option at this point.
He played well for a year and a half. After that, he played poorly. Even despite 16 touchdowns to 4 interceptions in his last season.
What part of getting beat out by Blaine Gabbert while in his prime don’t you get? I’d be for him signing up to compete in a camp but Kaep thinks he’s entitled for a guaranteed starter job.
This guy is desperately trying to stay relevant. The media continues to try and make him a story when the reality is “the door has been closed” on his NFL career for years.
here’s something crazy he just wasn’t that good otherwise he’d have been signed
Bit of a crock, could have played in Denver but turned it down.
I never did quite understand why anyone should be entitled to exploit other people’s privately held business to express their own personal political opinions and piss off at least 30% of the customer base for those other people’s business
He could’ve gotten a job a couple of years ago but he pulled that junk, changing the venue at the last minute. He doesn’t want to play football. He wants to play martyr.
While football is a sport, each team is a brand. And the QB is usually the face of that brand. When you CHOOSE to take such a divisive political stance, you diminish your chances of any team wanting you to be the face of its brand. Players get paid to perform on the field, not make polarizing political statements.
So if Harbaugh got the Vikings job he was a possibility there. What a joke. Sounds like he wants to sue the NFL again.
Judging by the thumbs up/down in the comment section that number has to be way higher than 30%
i don’t dislike Colin. I bet he is a good person that wants to do some good. But no matter what you think or feel if you sit kneel, or do anything but stand and show some sign of respect during our National Anthem a large percentage of people will think you are disrespecting our flag and thus our country and those that gave so much for all of us to enjoy freedom. I don’t think Colin wanted to be disrespectful but that is the way a lot of people saw it. I wish he had chosen another way to express his feelings and support his very worthy cause.
Wow things are finally starting to feel normal again. No more masks and we are starting to talk about kapernick playing again.
In other breaking news it has now been confirmed water is indeed wet….
So if Colin really wanted to play again and really wanted a legit workout why doesn’t he join a USFL team? I’m sure one of them would give him a shot and if he excelled who knows ?
30% of the fan base? Try 70.
Competition for Russell Wilson? Get real dude! Kap might be competition for someone like Blake Bortels but that was about the limit of his ability even in his best days. He was always a terrible QB.
Don’t get it twister, Kaep was done the minute Gabbert came off the bench to replace him. Everything else was just theatre.
The NFL shunned him??? Are you kidding me?? He sabotaged every try out along the way, and there were more than just one. Remember the private work out that the NFL set up for him and he refused to attend unless Nike could film it?? He never wanted to play again….period. He is NOT the victim here.
He was a one year wonder then defenses figured him out.
minime says: March 10, 2022 at 8:50 pm He was done when he started kneeling. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Why? Because he protested racial injustice that was happening in this Country? Lots of people kneel when thy pray. Tebow did it and no one said a thing.
He sealed his fate when he staged a protest on company time.
Why would anyone want him as the face of their franchise?
Funny thing is, he’s much richer today.
The NFL colludes against everyone they cut. No loss.
I’d rather roll the dice with Rudolph. Atleast he actually wants to play and would be 100% focused on playing qb.
Should have done a Moon or Flutie and went to Canada, shown the NFL that the talent is there.
There was no collusion. Just because every team came to the same conclusion doesn’t mean there was a mass conspiracy against Kaepernick. Pig Socks, being benched for Blaine Gabbert, not playing the last year of a valid 49’ers contract and blowing your own,NFL sponsored workout was the “collusion.”
Let’s all remember he got benched for Blaine Gabbert.
minime says: March 10, 2022 at 8:50 pm
He was done when he started kneeling.
His effectiveness was plummeting before he started kneeling.
No one to blame except himself.
We all know his protests sealed the deal on the end of his career. But lets not pretend he was better than he was. He had one really good year, one decent year after that, and several very average at best years. If he were a player the caliber of Brady, Mahomes or Rogers you can bet a team would have signed him no matter the distraction. He simply wasn’t as great as people seem to want to remember him as being.
He never wanted to play. The Ravens showed interest, then his gf made a racist remark about the Ravens owner. He refused workouts from teams and wanted to do his own workout. He won’t play ball, so to speak. He makes more being a pseudo martyr and pot stirrer.
He took a knee…. Wah.. get over it crybabies.
During a 47-7 loss to the Cardinals in Week 3 of 2015 (before he started kneeling), he went 9-of-19 for 67 yards while throwing four interceptions, including Pick-6s on San Francisco’s first two drives. Or how about the play in week 8 that year when Torrey Smith was waving at him that he was completely uncovered. Kaepernick never looked over and handed the ball off.
Here’s what Andy Bendit wrote prior to the 2015 season, a year before Kaepernick’s kneeling, “The 49ers’ QB has fundamental flaws in his game. If he can’t take the next step, he may end up joining the mass exodus in San Francisco.”
But sure, let’s just pretend he every year was like the year the 49ers played in the Super Bowl.
Kaep, Manziel and Antonio Brown are all examples of an employee who is more trouble than they’re worth. That’s on them, not NFL teams. And that’s not collusion — but it’s certainly unanimous. Big difference.
I’m sure he still thinks he worth more than 45mil a year too.
He’s a legend, to good people.
Agree with your take on this, Mike. Thanks for keeping this story alive.
Great athlete but never could pass. Horrible accuracy.
Just another running quarterback who was overrated and decided to make his career about social justice.
He should have signed the contract Elway offered him.. He was a back up and wanted top tier starter money..
Geeez… poor guy! Not like he wasn’t offered a contract 5 yrs ago, that he turned down… but activism was his priority, not football. Just the kind of leader of men a football team needs.
welcometothefold95 says: March 10, 2022 at 8:22 pm Meanwhile, the quarterback currently at the top of the depth chart in Pittsburgh is Mason Rudolph.
…and the qb atop the d.c. depth chart is carson wentz —————————————————————————————————————— Mason Rudolph has a higher average completion percentage then Kap. Wentz threw more TDs last season then any season Kap ever had. Oh Kap is a mobile QB and a season is now 17 games? Wentz threw more TD passes last season then any season Kap had TDs passing and rushing combined. I’m not even a Rudolph or Wentz fan.
So, the door is closed? For sure? It’s 100% over? We can stop talking about this guy now?
The comment section here was always really against Kaepernick for some reason. 4-5 years ago he was screwed, but now he needs to stop.
To anyone who thinks his exile from the NFL is all about his ability as a player: I have a bridge to sell you.
Bring back Kap Bring Back Kap Bring Back Kap
I don’t think he really wants to play, and hasn’t since 2017. It’s true he was blackballed from the NFL, but he could have gone to Canada, and if he put up some good numbers, some team would have given him a chance. But he didn’t. Didnt play in XFL either.
I think he wants to be a martyr
Playoff game winner Tim Tebow is also a free agent.
He has constantly been ‘in the best shape of his life’ every time this narrative has come up. He was likely in the best shape of his life while being benched for Blaine Gabbert as well. So glad that we can finally put this behind us.
I’d like to see a team sign him, any team. Put him through the work it would take to get him ready to play and watch him flame out and not make the team…end of Kap conversation…!!!
More like 30% of fans really wanted him back in the league, and that’s likely not real fans. And yea I’m sure R Wilson was worried about competition from a guy that let Blaine Gabbert put him on the bench…..
This dude got straight merkted and the league is wanting to act like nothing happened, just like how SOME of it’s dirty laundry is getting aired out right now. NFL is king but man it’s flawed as sh**
he had ONE good full season, after which his weaknesses were figured out (he couldn’t read defenses) To be fair, he also had some permanent injuries.
I didn’t like the path that he chose, but blackballing him was wrong.
Somebody correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t Kap offered a big contract by the 49ers after that fateful season but he turned it down?
Colin Kaepernick makes too much money from Nike in his social justice advocacy role to give that up to be an NFL quarterback. If the guy would focus on football rather than social justice, take a salary commensurate with his skill set, and be willing to sign as a backup, he would be signed. NFL teams have signed people of far more dubious quality than Colin, but if Kaepernick were to do that, there goes the social justice martyrdom and his Nike contract.
His protests/point was made. Whatever your feeling’s (I’m one that wanted him shunned for a period of time) the NFL ownership spoke loudly by their actions. Today’s reality is that if Kap wants to play within the team rules & he is given a workout, he really would be a chaotic player to bring into a locker room. As desperate as I am to see the Seahawks get competitive, I’m hoping he doesn’t get a second look by John/Pete.
minime says: March 10, 2022 at 8:50 pm He was done when he started kneeling. ———————————————————————————— A lot of NFL players knelt quite prominently and were none the worse for it. What did in Kaepernick was his focus on social justice rather than football. If CK had dedicated have the effort toward football that Brady does, CK would be employed in the NFL.
Right or wrong, justified or not; if Kaepernick really wanted to play…he should have swallowed his pride and lit up the score board in the CFL for a year or two. NFL teams would have run to form a line to sign him if he had recent success. He could have been bigger than Warren Moon coming out of the CFL.
Plenty of NFL teams would have signed him regardless…..look around the league….
It’s interesting that people declare Kaep’s career is over when he’s never been in trouble with the law or with drugs, but people like Josh Gordon have been suspended so many times we’ve lost count–yet he gets chance after chance. Tim Tebow was out of football for 9 years! Then, last year he auditioned for a position he’d never played before: tight end. And there have been NFL players who have killed people and were reinstated. Go figure!
gacoltfan says: March 10, 2022 at 8:40 pm
You’re way too low on that 30%.
As evidenced by the comments in this thread already
Good! Now maybe we can stop hearing about him.
Stop ignoring his insane salary demands. He knows he can’t play but needs the facade of wanting to
Unfortunately, you’re right. Was surprised 3-4 years ago that Pittsburgh never even brought him in for a workout. Too much time has passed now, though. Not making any claims that he was a great QB, but def was better than a lot of teams back-ups and prob a few starters back then.
I agreed with the message. I agree that he was wrongly blasted and portrayed as a villain by the NFL and fans. However, talent and the ability to win games would erase that quickly. His mechanics needed work and he made terrible mistakes with the ball. So Without the ability to shine on the field, forgiving his political outbursts by the fans would make adding him to a team a much much bigger pill to swallow. To come out five years later and say “The door is closed” is a huge understatement. Even now he is too much risk and zero reward.
I liked what I saw from CK as a QB…when he played at Nevada. Personally, I thought he regressed as a player throughout his pro career. Nothing political about it, strictly football, he wasn’t accurate and too long a delivery. This most recent tape makes him look way too heavy, and way too slow. Tebow couldn’t block as a TE, maybe CK should start hitting the practice dummy.
kap doesn’t want a job, he just wants the press. . he has sabotaged the opportunities given to him. . this is the NFL… teams will forgive just about anything if they think you can get them to the big game…
By the looks of the comments on this it looks to be more like 80 – 85% instead of 30%.
A spoiled, entitled, brat, who’s not very good, & hates America. Gee I wonder why he never got another gig…..
His talent wasn’t enough, to deal with his baggage.
Based on likes on connects here, I think 30% might be a little low. I think 30% might be on the high side of people who wouldn’t bash the decision. Most of the comment likes look about 8 to 1 in favor of no Kap. That’s a bit higher than 30%.
The NFL stands for – Not For Long. The NFL owes no one anything. He was a mediocre QB at best. The NFL put together a workout for him a couple of years ago. Over 20 teams were there to evaluate him. He changed the venue a half hour before the workout to a venue 45 minutes away, why? I don’t know but it appears he was screwing around with the league. He may have been signed then if he showed he was serious. As far as the “anonymous” source, until we know who it is, then we can’t read into anything. Kaepernick has always been playing games, so the source could be anyone off the street and Kap wants to give the illusion that he’s being blackballed.
Not with that attitude it isn’t.
Whatever your opinion of him may be. I always say you have to sleep in the bed you made.
When your best season only garnered 21 TDs, it’s not hard to understand the lack of enthusiasm surrounding you. Let’s not overthink this.
He wasn’t even the best QB on the team he was on, he was in complete decline, and the only reason he was relevant was because he made headlines for kneeling during the national anthem. It’s easy to say you’re in the best shape of your life when there is no one to even call you on it! He wasn’t a good NFL QB even when they were winning!
Colin’s girlfriend made the bed and now Colin must sleep in it.
A lot of former starting QBs commenting. 😂 Colin was 100% correct and you all know it. Fact.
Nobody cares. Try the USFL.
I am so tired of hear the NFL colluded against him. No, he p[rushed himself out the door by thinking as an average QB he needed superstar money. Add to that the other issues, and no one wanted him. Besides, he was given multiple chances to prove teams wrong in other leagues and turned them all down.
I recall that a few teams were interested in kicking the tires on Kap, but he was expecting big bucks (+$20 million per year at the time). He would not accept the idea of being a backup, even after sitting for a year or two. He had opportunities but chose not to take them so that he could be cement his legacy as a martyr.
You can be a professional athlete and stand up for what you believe in, but it is all in how you go about it. The problem with Kap is that he put himself and the limelight before his team, lost a ton of weight/muscle, and his drive to be a football player. That’s why he isn’t in the NFL.
Saying he is in the best shape of his life right now is funny, why wouldn’t you be in the best shape of your life when you were actually on a roster?????
Employers usually don’t rehire employees they had to settle a legal matter eith.
The only team that would want this circus is Dallas. No team wants to be part of the drama that goes with this guy. He made his bed, now he has to lie in it. Period.
Does this mean we’re done reading about this former football player who was benched for Blaine Gabbert and then opted out of his contract here?
Not showing up for the 2019 workout by notifying the reps from 25 different franchises less than 40 minutes before the tryout (interview), and then saying he would do a tryout 60 miles away, may have had something to do with it.
Regardless of how the issues between him and the league started, he was given an unprecedented opportunity to tryout (interview) in front of 25 teams and completely disrespected the teams (future employers).
I get it if he wants to say “I’ll never play for the NFL because of how they treated me…”, but to say you want to want to have a job and then blow off the interview?? That’s on you dude.
Personally, I wouldn’t touch him. For starters he’s not a great QB and at his age the running aspect is probably gone, especially with the lack of contact for so many years. The only way a team should consider signing him is there was an immediate need and only if a large majority of ticket holders demand it. You don’t want to anger your fan base.
If I am the Steelers I’d put the work in with Haskins before I turn to Kaepernick.
But let’s be honest. He doesn’t want to play. He wants attention. He had a chance to restart his career and play in the AAF and XFL. He wanted to be paid like a top NFL QB. He knew they wouldn’t meet his demands.
Thank goodness, he didn’t want to play anyway.
30% is far too low of a number to put on the fanbase hate. I would say that 65% is more accurate.
How can anyone advocate that this man should have been signed as anything more than a backup QB? He was benched for Blaine Gabbert for crying out loud! He knew his career as a starter was likely over, then starting kneeling to get attention. It got way more attention than he figured he would, so he ran with it. He didn’t do it in an effort to bring attention social injustice. He did it to bring attention to himself.
Surely his girlfriend calling the owner of an organization well known for hiring and promoting minorities a “slave master” didn’t help much.
Edmonton Rough Riders. Give em a call.
Kaepernick had ALOT of false narratives and one was being a good QB!
I didn’t agree with Kapaernick’s actions, but I think it’s frightening how many people only like freedom of speech when they agree with what is being said. R. I. P., democracy.
The door has been closed for some time now. This is old news, VERY old news.
CK made a conscious decision to turn himself into a marketing nightmare. His actions, no matter what the motive, upset a significant portion of the fan base. In this country we don’t force employers to hire individuals who diminish the product they are trying to sell.
I respect him and support him. but yes he’s done..Keep working on documentaries and work in communities where the young ones think the streets or entertainment is the only way.
Now can we please lock it and throw away the key?
BigAlHeBDMan says: March 10, 2022 at 10:09 pm minime says: March 10, 2022 at 8:50 pm He was done when he started kneeling. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Why? Because he protested racial injustice that was happening in this Country? Lots of people kneel when thy pray. Tebow did it and no one said a thing.
When Tebow kneeled and prayed people went after him in a more vicious way than they did kap.
He abused company assets for personal gain. That is the definition of a bad employee!
He was never better than slightly above average, worse than that when he last played, never really wanted to play again UNLESS he got starter money. He was happier with the media attention and the Nike $$. My guess is that much of the latter is gone and he is back for more.
Don’t kid yourself…..Kaepernick is not playing today because that’s the way he orchestrated it. He carefully made it look like we wanted to play, but couldn’t…..but he had no intention of actually playing.
His brand is stronger as a martyr.
Kaep will do ANYTHING to keep the limelight shown on him. His biggest mistake was to get hooked up with a radical GF who filled his head with hatred and convinced him he was better than he was. She robbed him of his best years…and a chance to be a real NFL legend.
The door is not only closed, it’s bolted shut.
Any team that signs Kaepernick will have media attention around the country and around the world. Training camp would be a zoo when he shows up.
“Kaepernick is in the best shape of his life.” ___________
Measured how exactly? He was built like a Greek god coming out of college and 5 full years away from the sport with no professional coaching or training won’t have made him better than he was back then. His 22-year old self would leave his current self gasping for air after a couple of sprints.
At least he got a Nike deal
But if someone signed him, what would he complain about? He’s happier with this story than he is playing football 1000000%
5 YEARS? NOW HE CAN BE VOTED INTO THE HALL OF FAME :s
Nah, he wasn’t good 5 years ago and ran himself out of the league when he decided he’d rather pretend to be oppressed to get rich rather than be a backup QB. He could have come back, hell he still could considering how woke the teams are, if he was willing to sign a fair contract instead of demanding $20,000,000 like he did to the XFL.
Note to NFL Qbs. Only kneel when it’s the victory formation.
I’m sure we’ll always be grateful to the guy who made politics an important part of the NFL…
I continue to believe this whole thing started as an attempt to force his way out of San Fran., and snowballed into something Kaeprnick was neither expecting nor prepared to handle. He had opportunities to walk back some statements and actions but refused to do so. If he truly believes in his “cause,” that’s admirable. But he also needs to realize there are consequences for that and it doesn’t mean what happened with him is unfair. He made a choice and needs to deal with it. You can call what the owners have done “collusion,” but why on earth would you want to bring that media circus to town for a backup quarterback?
The worst part is, there are lots of amazing examples of NFL players who have helped prompt sorely needed change the justice system, but they don’t get nearly the spotlight that Kaepernick does for playing the role of martyr. That’s unfortunate.
badrobot74 says: March 10, 2022 at 10:44 pm He took a knee…. Wah.. get over it crybabies.
Millions of people are “over it”. Its the media that pushes the narrative to the masses, with little to no support from the masses.
Can yall move on, yet?
Funny how no one remembers that he QUIT.
The door is closed for Colin Kaepernick. It was when he turned down an offer 5 years ago.
When Harbaugh chose Kap over Alex Smith, it was over. Smith would’ve won that Super Bowl. Harbaugh has sucked as a coach ever since, losing to Ohio State what, ten years in a row? He was wrong to think Kap was a good QB, and so are the people arguing he was good enough but kept off the field for politics. He had a couple good games and the team made the Super Bowl. So did Nick Foles, no one cried when he went back to the bench. Face it, if Tom Brady had knelt do you think teams would have shied away from him? Peyton Manning? NO, because they had talent, Kap didn’t.
USFL Colin, check it out.
I bet he could still run for 100 yards against a Capers defense.
He opted out of his own contract.
All he had to do was stand on his own two feet. He created this. No one to blame but himself.
The door is not even slightly AJAR ?
This isn’t about negative fan reaction. It’s about the media circus. No coach wants to constantly answer questions about their backup quarterback, or have their backup quarterback constantly in front of a microphone talking about not football. His talent did not justify it 5 years ago, and it doesn’t justify it now. Not to mention the fact that getting benched is what started his justice crusade in the first place (coincidentally, I’m sure). Yes, SF stunk in those years. Yes, his touchdown to interception ratio was pretty good. But go watch the games from his last two seasons. Watch him not even look at wide open receivers. Watch him not adjust to defenses. Watch him take avoidable sacks. Watch him go 3-16 with the same roster that Blaine Gabbert went 4-9 with. He flamed out.
The narrative here is a bit disingenuous, because it seems to be holding up “peak Kaepernick” as the commodity in question, when that player hasn’t existed for at least 7 years or more.
His case is a huge outlier, because his protests and the steep & sudden decline of his play are both so unusual. He also added to the protests by calling NFL owners racists and then taking the issue to court. When you do that and you’re not employed by anyone, it’s not retaliation to then not hire him, because no one is owed a job they don’t have.
Tony Romo went unsigned the same offseason as Kaepernick, and he was every bit as talented as Kaepernick. In his case, he had some injury concerns, but was it really enough for no one to even sign him and find out? Was that any more fair than what Kaepernick experienced?
As for comparing “peak Kaepernick” to current middling QBs, we all know there’s more to a job than just stats. Guys like Rudolph are filling a role – being a backup, getting paid less, doing whatever is asked of them – that Kaepernick never seemed interested in. At this point, there’s no real evidence that Kaepernick’s play would be better than any current QB.
Yup. Because he wasn’t very good.
irerogergoodellnow says: March 11, 2022 at 10:16 am
Any team that signs Kaepernick will have media attention around the country and around the world. Training camp would be a zoo when he shows up.
Oddly enough, I think it would be easier for a team to sign him now than ever from a PR standpoint. Sure, a lot of people are holding on to their anger for him, but overall that weakens with time.
The key would be what he would do after being signed. If he continued to speak out for social causes and looked for ways to rally players and teams toward positive change, it could work just fine. Society’s pointing that way, and players in others sports (especially NBA and soccer) have been very vocal about it.
But if he started kneeling during the anthem again, or calling owners racists again, or wore inflammatory attire again, it would all go sour again in an instant.
And if a team isn’t 100% sure what kind of behavior they would get from him, then that’s a big barrier to hiring someone, for any job.
Does anyone at this point (and shouldn’t take to now,) really think that even IF Kaepernick signed a deal that his agenda would be not about football? He retired being a football player, but hasn’t retired being a political advocate. This might be one of (if not the only) time I have agreed with the NFL.
The NFL paid him $10 MILLION to go away. You can collude against me all the time if you pay me that kind of money.
And, as so many above have said, you want to play, do everything you can to get a job — even try out.
It went from him playing football to just being an agenda years ago – to the point that I really don’t think he would want to play football any more anyway. Sure, he got blackballed, not officially – but face it, it’s the NFL. He wanted to use his employer provided position and status to push his own private agenda – and when told not to do so, he wouldn’t let it go. You tell me what happens to employees who continually defy their employers?
I’ll be fine when he is completely out of the media, if he ever allows that to happen.
The door was closed the minute he decided to piss of a significant portion of his employers’ customer base. He is not a martyr.
What makes people think he is as good or better than when he last played 5+ years ago, and he wasn’t awesome when he last played? I’ve watched every game he played as a 49er. I wanted him to succeed. Throwing a few passes in no equipment,shorts and a tank top to uncovered receivers in the same gear doesn’t display much. He should do a real display of his skills if they have improved; which I doubt they have. He wasn’t good at reading defenses, and I doubt he has improved that. He feels people are forgetting him, and needs to be a martyr every few years he shows him passing with awkward footwork. I almost want to see him play to shut some people up. It won’t be pretty.
Does he really think signing Kaep would be enough to tip the scales in the Steelers favor to win the Superbowl?
It was over for for Neil Kap when all 32 owners knew they would get sued if they hired him. No matter what they did or didn’t do the owners would have been held liable in Neil’s lawyers eyes
Even wasting my time commenting on something that should be long over! After all he did to his peers & NFL, he spits in the face of it for the tenth time doing his own workout.
Door is not just closed, it is double locked, nailed shut, cemented with extra rebar and backfilled with large rocks
All this for a QB that went 3-16 in his final two seasons, with an average QBR of 47.
Insider Mike Florio is stating as flat fact that all the owners colluded and agreed not to sign him. Despite the multiple reports over the years of teams offering him backup level contracts and him turning them down. Despite the fact that he never tried the CFL or one of the startup leagues.
The guy did not leave the NFL on top. Not even close. He was not a starting QB when the kneeling BS started.
But the most logical explanation is that he was blackballed by direct collusion….. Any other conspiracies you want to throw out there? Moon landing fake, CIA created crack……
Who want to sign a distraction and poison to the locker room. Collusion or not, why take a chance . It is difficult enough to run a competitive NFL
Kaepernick betrayed his country. Pete Rose got banned from his sport for life for doing a lot less.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.