The (not so bizarre) Case Of Colin Kaepernick

(Cover Image Courtesy of The Associated Press)

The (Not So Bizarre) Case Of Colin Kaepernick

-Shawn (@SunnysideUpdike)

Let’s face it, we live in a very uncomfortable world right now. Everywhere you look in the news and all over social media, we are faced with negative after negative. Racial tensions are still an all too apparent issue in modern society. Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter. These are all movements that have become incredibly prevalent in the last few years. The world of sports hasn’t been immune to this. This is all too apparent with the case of one Colin Kaepernick.

The Nevada grad (and Milwaukee born) was drafted with the 45th overall pick in 2011. After a rookie season where he rarely saw the field, Kaepernick took over for Alex Smith in the 2012 season and was firing on all cylinders. From 2012-2014, Kaep threw for over 8500 yards, 40 touchdowns as well as rushing for over 1500 yards. This success led to the 49ers offering a six year contract extension, worth up to $126 million.  The 2014 season however was less than successful from a team perspective. After reaching two back to back NFC Championship games, the Niners went 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

Then the struggles began. In 2015, under new head coach Jim Tomsula, Kaepernick lost his starting job to Blaine Gabbert. Injuries also plagued the latter part of the season, as Kaepernick required shoulder surgery. Heading into the following season with a new head coach, Chip Kelly, he was involved in a position battle with Blaine “the Stain” Gabbert. Kaepernick eventually won the starting role, and had a relatively average season statistically. He did become the fifth quarterback to throw for 3 touchdowns and have 100 yards rushing in a game. But the on the field performance was not the focal point of Kaepernick’s 2016 season.

During a preseason game, Kaepernick famously sat down during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. During the post game interviews, he explained:

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

This obviously has become the focal point of Colin Kaepernick. In the year since the “incident”, a lot has changed for Mr. Kaepernick. He was one of the most talked about athletes during the 2016 season. He eventually opted out of that contract at the end of the season and became a free agent. His free agency is one of, if not, the most hotly contested issues in the National Football League. Some see the statistical decline as the reason for his unemployment, others see him as being blackballed because of his personal views. The way I see it, you have to view Colin Kaepernick as a serviceable NFL Quarterback. (He’s rated a 75 overall in Madden 18 for god sakes.)

Look at it this way, there are 32 teams in the NFL. Which means there will be give or take seventy quarterbacks heading into week one of the NFL season. I have a hard time believing that Colin Kaepernick is worse than 70 other quarterbacks. Let’s take a quick glance across the league and see which teams could utilize the services of Colin Kaepernick.

New York Jets

This one’s a simple case of “What do they actually have to lose?”. The Jets are pheading into week one with 38-year old Josh McCown as their QB1. This is McCown’s tenth NFL team in 15 years. Let’s face it, he’s a bandaid on the quest to Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen or Josh Allen. The Jets are going to be abysmal this year. Colin Kaepernick could potentially put one or two in the win column for a franchise that’s pretty bad right now. At the very least, he could get them a couple days as a trending topic on Twitter.

Denver Broncos

Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian. These are the potential starting quarterbacks for a franchise that has had John Elway, Jake Plummer and Peyton Manning under center. I’m not saying that Kaepernick is on the level of the latter three. I am saying that I think he’s a better quarterback than what they have currently. Again, short term solution to a long term problem.

Jacksonville Jaguars

If this preseason has been any indication, the faith that the Jags have in Blake Bortles is wavering. When the discussion of whether or not Chad Henne is a better option at signal caller, there may be a potential problem at the position. While I believe Bortles can get back to the “success” (a relative term in Jacksonville) he had two seasons ago, bringing in Kaepernick could have potentially made sense when the preseason started. At this point, it may still make sense to have a once proven winner waiting in the wings for Bortles to slip up.

San Francisco 49ers

This one is probably an impossibility at this point. This would be the equivalent of getting back with an ex after your breakup was all over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. The way these two parted ways was less than amicable. But if you look at this from a pure football standpoint, the Niners are pretty bad at quarterback right now. I don’t honestly know how one could say that Brian Hoyer is a better quarterback than Colin Kaepernick.

So, bring it on. I’m ready. I’ve prepared myself for the inevitable flame war that comes with any kind of support for Colin Kaepernick. I’ve got my clap backs in my back pocket. Honey, I went to the Taylor Swift school of dealing with haters. I can take it. If you don’t think that Kaepernick deserves to have at least an opportunity to take a snap, in a closed practice, on a Tuesday afternoon in New Jersey (Yeah, I’m looking at you East Rutherford), then you don’t understand football. All of sudden, an athlete can’t make a statement. It’s 2017. Get over it. Accept that this world is kind of fucked right now. Hit me up, my DM’s are wide open. And the comment section is ready. END RANT.

Sports, aren’t they great?