Colin Kaepernick isn’t getting his chance … why?
The Colin Kaepernick drama that has engulfed the entirety of the NFL offseason — and beginning of the preseason — has been both obnoxious and unnecessary.
Kaepernick, 29, is not one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but is absolutely one of the best options on earth to be a backup on a contending team. Yet he remains unsigned, despite his declarations of wanting to play football. He has even been reported to change his stance pre-game, and not be kneeling during the national anthem anymore, something he did last year with the San Francisco 49ers in an effort to promote awareness of what he believes is inequality toward black men and women in America.
Whatever your stance is on Kaepernick, know this: he deserves to be playing in the NFL. The notion that an individual expressing themselves in a non-violent way within the United States is somehow a threat says more about the person feeling that way then the person demonstrating their thoughts and emotions through protest.
There is nothing threatening to a rational person about Kaepernick. He’s never been known to be violent and he has no criminal history. This is not to say he is perfect, though. Last year, he wore socks that depicted police officers as pigs, one of the more embarrassing moments in his past 12 months. Another incident was when he seemingly went to bat for Fidel Castro, then backtracking despite wearing a shirt that appears to extol Castro.
In totality, Kaepernick was attempting to make a statement by using the grand platform that is afforded to NFL quarterbacks. He did so, but he also made missteps, and ones that could cost him his career.
All that said, Kaepernick is an intellectual person who happens to play the game of football very well. While it is understandable that a team in a rebuilding process wouldn’t see use in bringing him on (ex: the Jets), it’s impossible to believe he couldn’t help a contender as an understudy.
Quick, name a backup quarterback on the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers or Oakland Raiders. All of the backups on those teams, on those contending teams, are atrocious. If any of the starters go down, so do the hopes of all the aforementioned teams. Why not bring in Kaepernick, who would provide a very good chance of keeping the train moving until the starter reclaimed his spot? It’s lunacy.
Hopefully, somebody in the NFL steps up, makes their team better and signs Kaepernick. It’s far from a given, but it would be the right move, not just for a man who should have a job, but for a team trying to win.
After all, isn’t that the point?
