Santoliquito: Colin Kaepernick Created His Own Mess
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — It started with a simple message of social media. Doesn't it always these days?
Last week, filmmaker Spike Lee posted on Instagram about his buddy, Colin Kaepernick: "Just Had Brunch With My Brother Colin @Kaepernick7 … How Is It That There Are 32 NFL Teams And Kap Is Still A Free Agent? … Smells MAD Fishy To Me, Stinks To The High Heavens."
The comment stirred up a firestorm and certainly grist for the contrived debate shows. The operative word "blackballed" was bandied about by numerous others, including Seattle All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, who reportedly said, "I'm sure he is. It's difficult to see because he's played at such a high level, and you see guys, quarterbacks, who have never played at a high level being signed by teams. So it's difficult to understand."
An argument could be made in Kaepernick's favor, considering quarterbacks such as Brian Hoyer (49ers), Nick Foles (Eagles), Landry Jones (who re-signed with the Steelers), Matt Barkley (49ers) and even Mark Sanchez (Bears) all signed new contracts this offseason.
Then the reality hits: He went 1-10 as a starter last year, despite completing 196 of his 331 passes for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 468 yards and two touchdowns for a team that finished 2-14, and whose leading receiver, Jeremy Kerley, caught 64 passes for 667 yards and three touchdowns.
Related: Theismann Rips 49ers For Giving Kaepernick Prestigious Award
Kaepernick opted to leave San Francisco, but he did leave a mark: In a 26-6 loss to the woeful 2-9 Chicago Bears, "Kap" completed one of five passes for 4 yards on Dec. 4. He was benched by coaching genius Chip Kelly in favor Blaine Gabbert.
The fact is Kaepernick has not been the same since his star-turning 2013 season. Since then, he's been 11-24 as a starter. Since he took over for Gabbert last season in Week 6, he completed 59.2 percent of his throws for 6.8 yards per attempt, well below the NFL average.
Some of the so-called pundits stomped on their soapbox screaming that Kaepernick's social stance of kneeling during the National Anthem this past season is behind the reason why NFL teams haven't called him.
Guess what, almost every pro sports team will give anyone a chance if it means that player gives them a better opportunity to win. The Eagles took in pariah Michael Vick. The St. Louis Rams signed defensive end Leonard Little, after he killed someone driving while intoxicated in 1998 and received four years' probation and a Super Bowl ring with the 1999 Rams. Greg Hardy was found guilty on two counts of domestic violence—and was still signed by Dallas, after serving a 15-game suspension when he was with Carolina, the team he played for when the act occurred. Texas Rangers' pitcher Matt Bush did 51 months in prison for count of DUI with great bodily injury. But he can throw a fastball over 90 m.p.h.
So it really doesn't matter.
Defenses figured out a way to corral Kaepernick. He had difficulty completing the short touch pass. Once that went, his average yards per pass declined each of the last five season, from 8.3 in his first season as a starter, to 7.7, to 7.0 in his third year, 6.6 in his fourth year and 5.2 last year.
Finally, NFL teams have a right to sign who they want to sign. Maybe some NFL owners were offended by Kaepernick's stance last season. Maybe NFL head coaches don't want to deal with the scrutiny and attention that comes with a quarterback with back-up talent commanding more of the spotlight that he deserves.
Who wants that headache?