When all of this went down, I mean the very moment it was realized protesting was going to be at least a season long thing for QB Colin Kaepernick, all of us could foresee what was in the future: a once-promising quarterback who was soon to become an NFL exile.
All signs point to Kaep possibly never playing another football game in the National Football League. Especially when a number of NFL execs are said to have a genuine disdain for his protest action last season.
Despite what conservative owners and general managers might think of him, Colin Kaepernick has inspired and empowered thousands directly, and perhaps millions indirectly.
So, when people talk about character and leadership as being essential on an NFL team, yet Kaepernick can’t seem to beg his way into a training camp invite right now, and we have big-dollar contracts being awarded to the likes of Mike Glennon, the writing seems clear enough. But sometimes further proof is needed to hammer home the point.
But in the midst of all of that, the most preposterous news is that Johnny Manziel is receiving some consideration the New Orleans Saints.
The San Francisco 49ers only won a single game last season. But Kaepernick’s numbers were right in line with his career averages, and his 468 rushing yards were second among quarterbacks to Buffalo’s Tyrod Taylor.
As a matter of fact, his numbers across the board increased in a positive direction after a season that had many thinking he had lost it. However, that 1-10 record is more of an indictment on the franchise than on Kaep, who played in 12 games last season.
Mike Glennon is not a better quarterback than Kaepernick, nor is he worth a three-year deal in the neighborhood of $45 million. But it’s clearly not a matter of talent when you also consider that Geno Smith, EJ Manuel, Nick Foles and Josh McCown all have NFL contracts.
With Manziel, we have an individual who has literally scoffed at the National Football League, and has shown addictive tendencies throughout the duration of his abbreviated career.
Of course, there are plenty of halfway decent quarterbacks that are sitting in free agency. Jay Cutler, Christian Ponder, Thaddeus Lewis, T.J. Yates, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Fitzpatrick are all languishing at this earlier juncture. But to say they’re halfway decent alludes to them being halfway terrible as well.
None of those guys ever played in a Super Bowl, and none of them ever had the explosiveness and big play potential that Kaepernick still has. We know what it is.
I don’t need to have a heatstroke to recognize when I’ve been sitting in the sun too long.
In the case of Kaepernick, there is still nothing but speculation to explain why he still doesn’t have a job. But it’s plain to see what’s going on here.
The hypocrisy that says John Elway can endorse a Supreme Court candidate on letterhead featuring the team logo, and the hypocrisy that says an unproven white talent like Manziel can get a third or fourth chance after proving to be a failure of epic proportions, becomes more and more apparent the longer Kaepernick continues to garner zero interest from teams.
