Would You Sign Colin Kaeperick as a Backup?
It’s been established that in order to have franchise success in the NFL, you will likely wind up leaning on the quarterback position as the centerpiece. As the regular season takes its course, multiple franchises have been forced to rely on their backup quarterback to step up and keep the offense afloat for as long as need be.
In 2016 alone, we saw veterans such as Tony Romo, Derek Carr, and Ryan Tannehill all go down at one point in the season. Some injuries were more serious than others, and therefore a reliable backup quarterback has almost become essential in today’s game. One potential quarterback that remains on the market currently is none other than Colin Kaepernick.
The ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback has remained unsigned this summer, and per the media, it is largely due to his political beliefs. While individuals such as Derek Anderson and Brandon Weeden continue to hold a position within the NFL, Kaepernick has willingly applied his free time to helping the community.
With the 2017 season on the distant horizon, should an NFL GM give Kaepernick a shot as a backup?
As a starter in 2016, Kaepernick lead the 49ers to an unimpressive 1-10 record, and was only able to complete 59.2% of his passes for 2,241 yards and 16 touchdowns. While Kaepernick didn’t do much to disprove his harshest critics, franchises have actually shown glimpses of interest this summer.
A few months back, one franchise that became close to signing the 29-year old happened to be the Seattle Seahawks. While the move made a lot of sense for the franchise, they instead elected to invest their money into Austin Davis, who was cut from the Denver Broncos in December of 2016.
Another franchise that has recently emerged as a suitable match for Kaepnerick is the Baltimore Ravens. Former head coach of the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh, happens to be the brother of current Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh. On top of that, Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman also has previous experience in San Francisco with Kaepernick as the starter.
While Joe Flacco is only a mere three years older than Kaepernick, adding an individual such as Kaepernick should be viewed as more of an insurance policy. Flacco has gone on record to welcome Kapernick to join the franchise, but also made it clear that he is the starter for years to come.
At the end of the day, would you sign Kaepernick? His political beliefs are likely viewed as more of a distraction in any NFL locker room, and without the numbers to do the talking for him, I can’t fully claim that Kaepernick is the best option for any franchise to invest in.
With the media constantly eyeballing Kaepernick’s every move, there seems to be a limited amount of benefits to signing the ex-49ers QB. While I could see him getting signed at some point in 2017, I believe this a big mistake for any GM to even consider.
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