Five NFL Teams that Should Sign Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick should be in the NFL.
Not because another police officer killed an unarmed black man. Not because the country is more sensitive to police brutality than it was four years ago, although I believe it is more sensitive. Not because opinions of Kaepernick have changed.
Kaepernick should be in the NFL simply because he’s better than most backup quarterbacks. That’s a good enough reason. And he still is relatively young -- only 32. And he could make a handful of good teams even better.
He has value.
But not to every team. The 49ers shouldn’t sign Kaepernick. They already have two good quarterbacks -- Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens.
Neither should the Patriots, Jaguars or Redskins sign Kaepernick. Those teams have young, inexperienced quarterbacks who need to play. And if they flop, those teams probably will draft one of the top quarterbacks next year -- Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields or Trey Lance. Teams love those three.
I’m focusing on teams that should offer Kaepernick a one-year, $1 million contract to be a backup. I assume he would accept such a deal. I assume he wants back in the league and will do whatever it takes to show he belongs. I could be wrong. Let’s assume I’m right.
Here are the five teams that should sign Kaepernick.
1. The Titans
They have a starting quarterback -- Ryan Tannehill. They gave him a four-year, $118 million contract this offseason. And he played well in 2019. Started 10 games in the regular season and posted a passer rating of 117.5 -- tops in the NFL.
But he didn’t help the Titans much in the postseason. He threw for 72 yards in a playoff win over the Patriots, and 88 yards in a playoff win over the Ravens. Then when the Titans faced the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game and Tannehill needed to throw more than 15 times, they lost. The Titans are an excellent team that needed something from Tannehill in the biggest game of the season but got nothing.
And Tannehill might regress next season. He was the Dolphins’ starting quarterback for six years and his quarterback rating was 87. His record was 42-46. He was relentlessly mediocre. Kaepernick always was better than him.
If Tannehill regresses as a passer, Kaepernick at least could give the Titans another running threat to pair with Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry.
2. The Bills
This is another terrific team with a questionable quarterback.
Last season, the Bills had the second-ranked defense in the NFL, won 10 games and went to the playoffs. But they lost their playoff game, mostly because their quarterback, Josh Allen, posted a passer rating of just 69.5 in it.
Allen is only 24, and he might improve. But in 2019, he completed only 58.8 percent of his passes. Kaepernick is more accurate than him. Allen mostly hurts defenses as a runner -- he rushed for 510 yards last season. But Kaepernick is a better runner than Allen.
The Bills are built to win now. Unfortunately for them, they might not have a quarterback who can win a playoff game. Kaepernick has won four playoffs games in his career. He would be a perfect backup for them. He might be better than their starter.
3. The Ravens
Lamar Jackson is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and a better player than Kaepernick ever was.
But Kaepernick is better than Jackson’s backup, Robert Griffin III. Griffin has been completely ineffective since he tore his ACL in 2013. He no longer runs well, and he never passed particularly well in the first place.
Even after taking three years off, Kaepernick can’t be worse than Griffin. And Kaepernick knows the Ravens’ offense. Their offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, was Kaepernick’s offensive coordinator on the 49ers. Kaepernick ran Roman’s pistol offense before Jackson did. We know Kaepernick can succeed in that system, because we saw him do it already.
The Ravens would be smart to upgrade their backup quarterback, because Jackson runs so much and exposes himself to injury.
4. The Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger is 38. He missed 14 games last season, and the Steelers still went 8-8. Almost made the playoffs. They have an elite defense and a great head coach.
But their backup quarterbacks are dreadful. Neither Mason Rudolph nor Devlin Hodges should ever start a game in the NFL. They are practice-squad-level players. How many games would the Steelers have won last season had they signed Kaepernick when Roethlisgberger went down Week 2? Nine games? Ten? Who knows?
Roethlisberger tends to miss games every season. He has played only one full 16-game season since 2014. If any team needs a starting-caliber backup quarterback, it’s Pittsburgh.
5. The Rams
Are we sure Jared Goff is any good?
He looked good for a couple years, but then he played so poorly in the Super Bowl -- his quarterback rating was 57.9. He led his offense to three measly points. Kaepernick probably would have played better.
Then last season, Goff continued to struggle. His passer rating was 86.5. And doesn’t move well. He’s just a mediocre passer.
Kaepernick at least can scramble around and extend drives with his legs.
There’s a legitimate possibility Kaepernick is better than Goff right now. The Rams owe it to themselves to find out.
