Seahawks not signing Colin Kaepernick

The Colin Kaepernick saga seems destined to drag out into summer, and perhaps even longer than that. The Seattle Seahawks, the only team to invite Kaepernick in for a visit this offseason, has come out and announced it won’t be signing him at this time, per ESPN.

“Colin’s been a fantastic football player, and he’s going to continue to be,” Carroll said. “At this time, we didn’t do anything with it. But we know where he is and who he is and we had a chance to understand him much more so. He’s a starter in this league. And we have a starter. But he’s a starter in this league, and I can’t imagine that someone won’t give him a chance to play.”

Kaepernick, 29, was once one of the most promising young players in the game at its most prized position. In 2012, he seized the starting job from Alex Smith while with the San Francisco 49ers and took them to the Super Bowl, following a few yards shy of glory. Then, after returning to the NFC Championship Game and losing to Seattle, the wheels fell off. The 49ers watched the roster disintegrate and with it, Kaepernick’s talents.

Now, we are left with one of the more perplexing free agents in NFL history, with many believing his off-field stances have hurt his chances of ever getting another contract.

There is some truth to that. Kaepernick threw 16 touchdowns last year against four interceptions, but his play remains erratic at times in terms of accuracy and consistency. He still struggles throwing short and intermediate timing routes, something evident on tape. Still, his athletic ability remains unquestioned and his arm is prodigious. In other words, Kaepernick is flawed, but he’s certainly worthy of a job, even as a high-quality backup.

So this leads us back to his political stances, which are well-known. Kaepernick sat and then knelt during the national anthem last season, refusing to stand for the symbol of our country. His belief is that America does not have racial inequity, and whether he is correct or not, it divided legions of Americans, owners and fans alike, on him.

Yet I would contend that teams are much less bothered by his stance and more concerned about two things. For starters, his eroded play from 2014 to the present day. He’s better than some give him credit for, but his play has dipped. Second, his wearing of pig socks on the practice field last year, depicting police officers as such. Many in the media feel Kaepernick is being blackballed and perhaps rightfully so, but those socks didn’t help his cause. Neither did taking up for Fidel Castro.

Teams will deal with anything from pig socks to a criminal act (something Kaepernick has never committed) if a player can help a team win. They are less inclined to sign a player that is going to draw the ire of their fanbase if they are going to ride the pine.

Ultimately, Kaepernick can’t help a team win enough to make him worth the risk at this point. We’ll see if someone feels that balance shifts over the next few months.