Until Colin Kaepernick is Signed, NFL Just Saying What’s Politically Correct

Perhaps the Coronavirus pandemic is a convenient excuse for why quarterback Colin Kaepernick still doesn’t have an NFL job.

Teams are reportedly interested, if you believe what is shared in social media, but the guy who took a knee during the National Anthem to protest racism and police brutality in 2016 remains unemployed.

Is that because teams want to put him through a workout to ensure he still has the skills to play? NFL facilities have been closed for much of the offseason and the only players allowed back are those rehabbing injuries.

While it would make sense for teams to want to see the goods, so to speak, Kaepernick deserves another shot at some point. That shouldn’t be up for debate, not when scanning the list of bad backup quarterbacks who have NFL jobs. Seriously, there are too many guys earning a paycheck who will never amount to anything as pros.

Kaepernick led the 49ers to a Super Bowl before the San Francisco 49ers imploded around him — head coach Jim Harbaugh was basically chased out, and Kaepernick was never the same after that. He was coming off three surgeries before his final season in 2016, which was a forgettable one season with Chip Kelly as head coach, after another ugly season with Jim Tomsula as head coach the year before.

Kaepernick is 32 now, he’s proven his health and arm strength in a workout, and has hasn’t taken a hit since he last played, you know, before the NFL turned its back on him. Critics will say it's about his play, that he wasn't the same quarterback after he got hurt.

But look at his career stats: In six seasons, he completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 12,271 yards with 72 TDs and 30 INTs. He also rushed for 2,300 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per rush, with 13 TDs.

From 2012 to 2014, he was 29-16 as an NFL starter. In the last two years, he was 3-16. The 49ers finished 7-25 in those latter two years. It's convenient to blame the quarterback for everything that's wrong, but a team doesn't lose that much just because of the quarterback, especially a guy who was a proven winner.

In the wake of the George Floyd death while in police custody in Minneapolis, the world has taken to the streets in protest the same injustices that Kaepernick was trying to raise awareness about, racism and police brutality. NFL players say they will kneel during the National Anthem when the games resume.

The politically correct statement being made around the league is that teams got it wrong about Colin Kaepernick. You think? The company line, including a statement from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, is to denounce racism and police brutality. Of course, that’s what they’re saying, because it’s true, but also because the league has too many black athletes to ignore racism in society.

Keep in mind, this is the league that tried to ignore concussions for more than two decades. If it's not in the NFL's best interest, from a bottom-line business perspective, anything can be ignored.

If Kaepernick never gets another shot, even with expanded rosters during the preseason, what does that say about the NFL?

It says that while the social unrest which inspired protests can’t be ignored, Kaepernick still can be. That’s just wrong. And that means, regardless of how many NFL voices say what’s in their best interest, nobody believes it enough to do the right thing with Kaepernick.

If the NFL is able to play games this fall, imagine for a moment how so many players will be taking a knee. Think about that.

Somewhere, an unemployed Kaepernick should be proud he got it right.

But he should be shaking his head about the hypocrisy of so many saying the right thing, but then doing nothing when it comes to him.

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)