On May 16 we reported that the obvious Blackballing of Colin Kaepernick would come to an end with a head coach, backed by an organization with enough guts to throw at the 1 yard line with the Super Bowl on the line and Beast Mode in the backfield.
And a quarterback who can turn a mess into a memory in Super Bowl winning QB Russell Wilson. Kaepernick, who threw just 4 picks and tossed 16 TDS last season for a terrible San Francisco 49ers squad, worked out for Seattle, got public support from Wilson and a few other vocal Seahawks players and then he was smacked in the face with a back-handed compliment as he left without a contract.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Friday that Colin Kaepernick should be a starter in the NFL, but Seattle has no current plans to sign him.
“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.”
Asked if Kaepernicks social activism has affected his chances to be signed, Carroll responded “I don’t know that. Let’s wait and see. There’s some other guys still out too.”
Calling Colin Kaepernick a “starter” and framing the situation as if a backup spot would be beneath him is also classic Carroll. Hes a players coach and shrewd in social relations and problem management. In this case, the problem may not be Kaepernick at all. The media has been harping on this supposed Richard Sherman-Russell Wilson beef, which both players have said isnt there, but analysts and media talking heads keep saying otherwise.
Seattle’s chemistry appears to be a bit rocky right now. Even if the inner-turmoil, jealousies and riffs are exaggerated by the press, the harmony needed to take on another mentally burdensome task like managing a lightening rod backup QB who commands starter attention, isn’t there right now.
Under normal circumstances, Seattle probably would have been a great fit for the country’s Kaep crusader. With the winds of uneasiness currently swirling around the team, this was not a move they ultimately wanted or needed to make.
