[JonInKC]

http://cornerpubsports.com/2017/08/f...in-kaepernick/


For just about a calendar year, former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been a hot-button topic among NFL news. As he searches for his next opportunity, it seems to be the popular opinion that he remains unsigned because, as part of a public protest, he was kneeling during the National Anthem last season.
The REAL reason he’s unemployed, however, is nothing more complicated than …
Colin Kaepernick is just not a very good quarterback

At one point, Kaepernick was considered to be the of the brightest up and coming talents in the league. He provided an offensive spark that helped the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2012, losing to the Baltimore Ravens. San Francisco invested in Kaepernick, signing him to potentially lucrative contract. Kaepernick has been in steady decline ever since. His poor play and NOT his political views is why no NFL has picked him up yet.
Supporters of Kaepernick are quick to dismiss the notion that he had a poor 2016 season. They won’t hesitate to point out he threw 16 touchdown passes against four picks.
At face-value that seems impressive. However, you need to dive a little deeper and consider a few other stats … namely, EVERY OTHER STAT.

First is probably the most glaring. Given that he started 11 games, 16 touchdown passes frankly just isn’t going to help you very much in the win column.
When it comes to pass completion percentage, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Kaepernick finished 26th out of 30 passers, completing 59.2 percent of his passes, behind Bills’ Tyrod Taylor and even Case Keenum of the Rams.
Kaepernick’s Quarterback Rating from ESPN of 55.2, ranks him at 23rd in the NFL. Just for perspective, that puts him behind Brock Osweiler and even Trevor Siemian.
Putting his poor pocket presence on full display, despite starting fewer games than most of starters in the league, Kaepernick finishing second in the league in percentage of times sacked when dropping back to pass. This also explains why he had the third worst “net yards” in the league (pass yards minus sack yards) for starters.
He rushed for two touchdowns, but fumbled a staggering nine times. Third in the league ranked among all quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers.
Last but not least, and certainly most importantly, Kaepernick had the NFL’s worst starter record in 2016 finishing at 1-10. Even his teammate, Blane Gabbert, only won one game while “only” losing four games.
The NFL is NOT stone-walling Kaepernick

Over the course of the last decade, if the NFL has gone out of its way to prove anything, its that it has exactly two priorities … winning and money.
For example:
Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison in 2007 for running a “cruel and inhumane” dogfighting ring and lying about it.
In early 2000, Ray Lewis was arrested for two counts of first-degree murder after he was involved in a brawl that led to the stabbing and death of one of the people involved. Lewis ended up pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and the charges were dropped. He admitted to misleading police with his statements and the suit he was wearing during the fight was never found.
Donte Stallworth pled guilty to vehicular manslaughter charges. Stallworth admitted to being under the influence at the time of the accident and ended up serving 24 days in prison and a one-year suspension from the NFL.
Adam “Pac-Man” Jones has a rap-sheet a mile long. He’s been arrested at least nine times since being drafted in 2005. He’s beat up strippers, bodyguards (his own) and other nightclub patrons. The most intense of his strip club incidents ended in a gun fight that left one man paralyzed. He served a one year suspension in 2007.
Each one of these players was reinstated into the league after serving their league-mandated time away from football. The common denominator between each? They could all still contribute at a high level. Vick and Jones went onto make a pro-bowl appearance. Ray Lewis might have actually killed a guy and he’s on the ballot to be enshrined in Canton OH in the Football Hall of Fame. Even Donte Stallworth went onto play in the league another 4 years after his suspension.
In light of the list of players above, it seems ridiculous that the NFL would then choose Colin Kaepernick as the player they felt the need to stone-wall out of football. Clearly, if he had the ability to play the position, he would have a job.
If the NFL really wanted to, given the leverage owners and the league has over its players, Kaepernick would have been cut during the last preseason when his protest began, or during the season.
If Tom Brady or Cam Newton took a knee, they’d still be playing because the two have shown greatness in recent years, Kaepernick hasn’t. Since he didn’t cost the NFL money, but hasn’t won much in the last few years, it’s pretty obvious why he’s unemployed.
There HAVE been job offers for Kaepernick

This idea that every team in the league is conspiring to freeze Kapernick into retirement is pure fiction. Since the end of last season, several teams, including the Browns, Ravens, Seahawks and Dolphins, have reportedly reached out to the San Francisco signal caller.
Before the last draft, the Browns were reportedly close to completing a trade for the San Fran QB. Cleveland supposedly offered the 49ers its third-round pick, No. 65 overall. According to Matt Barrow of the Sacramento Bee however:

“He was wary of taking a lower-money deal on a bad team that is losing talent and that may also use its first-round pick, No. 2 overall, on a quarterback.”

In the interest of fairness, given that Cleveland has been a quarterback graveyard for almost two decades, I don’t entirely blame him for passing on this one. The opportunity was still there, however.
Two weeks ago, Ravens owner Steve Biscotti confirmed he was interested in acquiring Kaepernick to back-up starter, Joe Flacco. After Ravens alum Ray Lewis posted a cryptic video telling Kaepernick to focus on football, not activism, Kaepernick’s girlfriend Nessa Diab compared Lewis and Biscotti to a slave and master. Needless to say, negotiations then came to a grinding halt.
The Dolphins were in desperate need of a QB after Ryan Tannehill suffered a season ending injury and considered Kaepernick. When head coach Adam Gase had the opportunity to sign Jay Cutler, however, the former Chicago Bears familiarity with his former coach’s offensive system made him a far better fit than Kaepernick.
Back in late May, Seattle was so interested in Colin Kaepernick that they brought him in for an on-site workout. Despite being impressed with his performance, Seahawks head coach Pete Caroll stated the next week the team could not sign him because he’s a “starter.”

“We have a starter,” Caroll stated before declining to answer questions on Kaepernick’s salary demands. “But he is a starter in this league and I can’t imagine somebody won’t give him a chance to play.”

The insinuation is clear. Kaepernick still considers himself a starter and doesn’t want to play the role of a deep back-up.
Kaepernick will likely catch on with a team. Coaches just can’t help themselves when it comes to quarterback reclamation projects. This late in the off season however, Kaepernick may need to follow the same path that Michael Vick did when he signed with the Eagles. Take a job as a third string, work hard, and wait for your opportunity. It would seem Kaepernick needs to humble himself and more firmly re-evaluate both his current situation and his own personal responsibility for it.
As much as ESPN would want you to believe otherwise, there’s no conspiracy here.