I've tried to stay out of the Colin Kaepernick collusion thing for as long as I could. But now that there are so many injured quarterbacks in the NFL, the clamoring for him to be signed by one of those teams are getting louder. Yet he remains unsigned. Some would point to this as evidence that there is collusion. Or maybe teams just don't want him.
Collusion is very difficult, if not impossible, to prove. And Kaepernick certainly isn't helping his case with his lawsuit against the league. Beyond that, even if here were to "win" in court, that doesn't guarantee Kaepernick anything. No team would be required to sign him. So, that leaves me wondering--what is his ultimate goal? Because he's not gonna end up with an NFL job either way.
Kaepernick, of course, has been a lightning rod of controversy for more than a year, ever since he started taking a knee during the national anthem in the 2016 preseason. He opted out of his contract with the 49ers (who didn't want him back) during the offseason and has been a free agent ever since. And the reason he remains unsigned, Kaepernick contends, is because he's been blackballed by NFL owners.
Now, I don't doubt there were some owners who have said "Thanks, but No Thanks" regarding Colin Kaepernick. These are the owners like Houston's Bob McNair and New England's Robert Kraft. That's why they've been deposed in Kaepernick's collusion suit. But does he really think Bob McNair and Bob Kraft tell the other 30 NFL owners what to do? Hardly. They all came to their own conclusion, for whatever reason, independently.
All season, whenever a quarterback has gone down, the immediate reaction from fans is "they should sign Colin Kaepernick!" Nevermind the fact that Kaepernick hasn't played a snap since last December or that he might be completely wrong for their system or that he isn't a very good quarterback. He's the biggest name out there, though, so that means he's obviously the guy the fans want. Kind of like when Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel were the biggest names available.
Ironically, one of the teams that just lost its injured starter for the season is Houston. With Deshaun Watson out for the year, Tom Savage started for the Texans on Sunday, and they just signed former Buc (and like six other teams) Josh Johnson to be his backup. And that, of course, left people up in arms, insisting that Kaepernick was a better option than Josh Johnson.
Now, I have no doubt that Kaepernick is better than some of the men currently employed as NFL quarterbacks. But Kaepernick to Houston was never going to happen. Who's the Texans' owner? Do you really think Bob McNair, one of the most vocal owners against the anthem demonstrations, one of the most outspoken critics of Colin Kaepernick, whose team plays in Texas, is going to sign the poster boy for everything opposite what he represents? Unlikely.
Bob McNair is not alone. Every team has had their opportunity to sign Colin Kaepernick. For whatever reason, they've decided against it. But that doesn't mean they all got in a room together and decided as a group that Kaepernick was no longer welcome in the NFL. They each decided, individually, that they don't want him. Whether it's because of the anthem or because they think he'll be a distraction or because they simply don't think he's that good or for some other reason.
And don't be fooled by Colin Kaepernick, either. He's not a victim in all this. He's the one who picked this fight. He should've known there should be repercussions. He made the choice to be an advocate. If he was a better quarterback, somebody would've already signed him, baggage and all. Likewise, if he wasn't making it a point to keep his name in the media, the fact that he isn't signed would be a non-story.
So, does Colin Kaepernick have a case? No. And I think he knows that. I also doubt whether or not he actually wants to play quarterback in the NFL again. Because if he did, he'd be looking for ways to make sure teams wanted to sign him. Not doing things to make sure they won't.
No comments:
Post a Comment