Colin Kaepernick’s nearly two-year-long collusion case against the NFL and its owners is finally over, at least on paper.
The case, in which Kaepernick alleged that NFL owners colluded to keep him out of the league, ended in a settlement on an undisclosed amount of money. In return, the NFL gets to save face and avoid any admission of guilt that could come with a guilty verdict, according to SB Nation.
Looking at it from the NFL’s point of view, the decision to settle and bury the hatchet with Kapernick was probably the best move to make.
A primary reason why NFL teams stayed away from Kaepernick was due to his ongoing legal battle with the league. In theory, this should make the veteran QB easier to sign, right?
Truth be told, I still don’t see Kaepernick playing for any NFL team in the near future. It’s not hard to see why teams stayed away from the QB, even disregarding the legal trouble.
His decision to kneel for the anthem turned him into a polarizing figure overnight. I won’t judge someone for taking their own path in life if they truly believe in something. While I don’t necessarily agree with Kaepernick’s protest, it doesn’t bother me that he decided to kneel.
To NFL team owners, Kaepernick is a public relations and locker room liability.
All of the controversy surrounding the QB would prove to be a huge distraction for any team in the league and would prompt hard questions from the media and a likely backlash from fans of the team.
The videos online of people lambasting Kaepernick and burning his jerseys show that signing the QB could potentially harm ticket sales.
While Kaepernick is a polarizing figure to fans all over the country, he is likely just as controversial to NFL players as well. No matter how good a team is, a disorderly locker room and bad team chemistry can derail a season.
In addition, Kaepernick hasn’t played a snap of professional football in well over two years. To Kaepernick’s credit, he was a decent QB during his time with the San Francisco 49er’s, leading the team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2012. But to NFL teams, Kaepernick’s absence could have lost him his ability to play in the league.
While I understand the decision of the league to settle with Kaepernick and why teams previously didn’t pick him up as a free agent, I think that Kaepernick should be given another shot at playing in the league.
In a league where terrible QB’s like Nathan Peterman, Brock Osweiler and Trevor Simean are constantly given chances to play, I don’t really see why Kaepernick should continue to be snubbed, controversy aside.
I can argue that Kaepernick is even better than some starting QB’s that are currently playing, such as Denver’s Joe Flacco and Miami’s Ryan Tannehill, who are both mediocre backup-caliber players at best. However, the upcoming free agent market is somewhat deep, so Kaepernick won’t have an easy time finding work.
Kaepernick’s cause is something that is too big to be ignored, but this topic has been beaten to death over the last couple of years. The NFL did the smart thing by settling with Kaepernick. With that being said, give the QB one more shot at the league and let’s get back to football.
