Posted on 03/17/2017 10:07:05 AM PDT by Kazan
It's more than a week into free agency and Colin Kaepernick is still unemployed. Remember, this is a quarterback who played in the Super Bowl only four years ago, yet now it appears he can't get a look from teams. So I set out to discover, once and for all, what teams think of the 29-year-old former Niner.
"He can still play at a high level," one AFC general manager said. "The problem is three things are happening with him.
"First, some teams genuinely believe that he can't play. They think he's shot. I'd put that number around 20 percent.
"Second, some teams fear the backlash from fans after getting him. They think there might be protests or [President Donald] Trump will tweet about the team. I'd say that number is around 10 percent. Then there's another 10 percent that has a mix of those feelings.
"Third, the rest genuinely hate him and can't stand what he did [kneeling for the national anthem]. They want nothing to do with him. They won't move on. They think showing no interest is a form of punishment. I think some teams also want to use Kaepernick as a cautionary tale to stop other players in the future from doing what he did."
When I spoke to a handful of executives at the combine a few weeks ago, one even called him "an embarrassment to football."
For the moment, the interest in Kaepernick is slim, and that's putting it kindly.
It's possible teams are waiting for the right time to make their play for him. That's sometimes how it works in free agency. Weeks or months will go by with little interest in a player and then, boom, it all heats up at once.
But what's happening with Kaepernick is highly unusual. So far, it seems he hasn't visited a single team. I can't find a quarterback-needy team that's interested. Again, things can change quickly, but the silence is deafening.
From a football perspective, teams worry about Kaepernick's throwing accuracy. He still has some difficulty hitting tight windows and sometimes runs even when receivers are open. In 2016, Kaepernick connected on 59.2 percent of his passes, which ranked 26th in the league.
There's also the perception—a wrong one—that he has difficulty learning new schemes.
And if those weren't enough, concerns linger that he is moody and not a good teammate. That belief also may not be accurate. From speaking to 49ers players about Kaepernick, it's clear most of the San Francisco locker room liked him.
Kaepernick can take hope in how putrid the quarterback market is. When Jay Cutler is at the top of the heap, that says it all.
There are still teams desperate for a competent QB, so much so that one eventually will find the risk in signing Kaepernick is worth any potential backlash. That's my guess.
Still, it's hard to emphasize how unusual Kaepernick's current situation is. If a Super Bowl quarterback can walk and chew bubble gum simultaneously, he gets opportunities. Those opportunities usually arrive until that player is totally and completely done. That's not the case with Kaepernick.
Four years ago, he ran for a playoff-record 181 yards and two scores at Green Bay as the 49ers beat the Packers in a divisional playoff game, 45-31. The Niners would then go to Atlanta and upset the Falcons in the NFC title game before losing Super Bowl XLVII to the Ravens when a last-gasp drive fell five yards short. Throughout those playoffs, Kaepernick was more than capable, completing 61.3 percent of his passes, throwing only two interceptions and producing a combined quarterback rating of 100.9.
Guys like that get multiple shots.
Further adding to the intrigue is that teams understand Kaepernick hasn't been playing with a great deal of talent around him recently. The 49ers, frankly, have been a dumpster fire the past few years, and it showed with some of the players with which the team surrounded their QB.
Despite all of that, his phone is not ringing off the hook. Or at all, for that matter.
Kaepernick's new agents appear to have foreseen all of this, which is why it wasn't surprising when sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Kaepernick would start standing for the anthem.
Now, he sits. Waiting and waiting. A still-talented player whose political statement may have cost him his NFL career.
Even EJ Manuel got signed!
He should try for a job with a team outside of the USA. I’m sure he would find that more comforting than the discriminatory USA. s/c
“Nelson Ha Ha.”
________________________
LOL! I was just about to post Mr. Burns ... “Excellent” ;)
The article basically says the same thing, estimating around sixty to seventy percent of the teams’ personnel heads just plain hating the guy. The other thirty to forty percent aren’t interested because they think he’s a s**tty quarterback or are aware of how signing him would go down with their fan base. He’s toxic.
Otherwise, he will have to wait until a mid-season injury sidelines an NFL starter before somebody will take a gamble on him.
Perhaps that’s because the public doesn’t want to see him.
Agreed. I will begin watching NFL again when they bring Tebow back, maybe coach, and Kaepernick is dust.
Otherwise, there are many other sports games. Many.
The author forgets that 2/3's of the teams in the league are satisfied with their current starting QB. Some others are looking to rebuild (Kap is already 29), and draft their QB to get the advantage of the rookie wage scale. There are so many more variables the author failed to consider, or failed to put into the article.
Exactly. Ultimately, sports is just another form of entertainment. The main object of the sport is to sell tickets and earn TV ratings. Winning is the tried and true way to popularity; trying hard and giving great effort is acceptable. Insulting your fans is a great way to lose their interest - even if you're winning.
It's arrogant to think that everyone has the same political views- it's even more arrogant to try to tell people why they are wrong (especially when they're not).
The league may not acknowledge the negative impact he's had. But the team owners know, and they're the ones that have to face the immediate backlash.
Enjoy the golf course, Colin.
I think he’s gone over the the dark side, thanks to his girlfriend. His mind is no longer totally on the game, sort of like Tiger Woods but for a different reason.
He’s done.
And it serves him right to suffer but that said some team will eventually call. That is just the way the NFL is.
The NFL could hire Somali players, and salute the Black Flag of ISIS. Diversity is their strength.
Agree. Feel good story. Let’s see if some masochist/politically correct NFL owner steps up and succeeds in deep sixing another NFL season. Maybe Roger Badhell can employ him in the front office as his politically correct stooge.
I don’t care how good he is, there’s someone as good or better. And they will have some respect for their fans and their country.
This idiot committed career suicide.
Does that mean he’s becoming a Ram?
Not accurate at long throws or short touch throws. It's always a 90MPH fastball weather 5 yds. or 50.
And as a 49er Faithful fan since the mid 60's, he is a #Fake49er.
Tebow is playing for the Mets...
Doubt he would start coaching football...
He was never a good Quarterback. He was a gimmick and the NFL caught up with him.
I’d like Dallas to hire him.
As a tackling dummy.
I love a story with a Schadenhappy ending...
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