NFL Rumors: Colin Kaepernick’s Career May Be Over With Seattle Seahawks Likely Passing On Signing Him

A few years ago, he was starting for the San Francisco 49ers as they appeared in the Super Bowl, and now, he may have played his final down in the NFL. At the beginning of March, Colin Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers and officially became a free agent. Some teams have taken a look at him and the Seattle Seahawks were even rumored to be signing him soon, but it looks as if his time in the NFL may have finally come to an end.

Kaepernick’s relationship with the 49ers has become extremely strained over the last year or two and the split is not surprising. Even if he hadn’t opted out of his contract with San Francisco, 49ers General Manager John Lynch said that the team was going to cut him anyway.

According to Pro Football Talk, Lynch has confirmed the rumors that Kaepernick was going to be cut by San Francisco if he hadn’t left on his own.

“…we had that conversation with him. So I don’t want to characterize it as he made a decision to leave here. We both sat down and under that current construct of his deal, it was a big number. [Coach] Kyle [Shanahan] had a vision for what he wanted to do, and one thing I think Kyle was very clear and I think Colin appreciated, is that Kyle has an idea of how he’d play with Colin Kaepernick. But he preferred to run the exact offense that he ran in Atlanta last year that was record-breaking in this league. And if you change it for the quarterback, you change it for everybody on that offense. So he had a great discussion that I think gave Colin clarity, so we moved on.”

After pursuing Brian Hoyer, the 49ers didn’t find it necessary to keep Kaepernick around as a back-up, and the split took place. While some teams have taken an interest in him during free agency, no-one has actually taken the bait.

The Seattle Seahawks were said to be in strong talks with Kaepernick and many actually said that the team would sign him. Film director Spike Lee even apparently leaked that the team was going to sign him as Lee thanked Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll for making the deal.

It appears as if Lee jumped the gun as no contract was ever in place and no deal was signed by Kaepernick. According to NESN, the Seahawks are now in the process of moving away from the former Niners’ QB even though they did bring him in for a visit.

Many NFL teams have already started or completed their Organized Team Activities (OTAs), and free agency is almost three months old. Training camp is set to begin in mid to late July which means there is not a lot of time left for Kaepernick to sign with another team.

By this point, it certainly appears as his career may be done for. NESN continued to say that it would likely take a serious quarterback injury or something similar for Colin Kaepernick to be signed by any NFL team, but is there more to the reasons for him being virtually ignored?

ESPN reported about New York Giants co-owner John Mara recently stating that many team fans sent him letters saying they would protest if the team signed Colin Kaepernick. In the way that Kaepernick protested by kneeling during the national anthem, fans told Mara they would protest by not attending any more Giants games.

After hearing his comments, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith said his former teammate is being blackballed and treated worse than other NFL players who have committed serious crimes.

It’s amazing what folks consider going too far..you can do all kinds of crazy things and get a 2nd chance but you can’t get over a protest? https://t.co/raCwpONRdq

— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) May 29, 2017

My issue really isn’t just the hate on Kap…it’s what folks prioritize as wrong….hit a woman cool…sexual assault cool…kneel OH NO

— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) May 29, 2017

Colin Kaepernick appeared to be one of the next great quarterbacks in NFL history with his strong arm, agility, speed, and charisma. Unfortunately, off-field issues combined with a bad season in 2015 has led to him being a free agent for two months now and no team is any closer to signing him. The Seattle Seahawks appeared to be close to a deal with him, but that seems to be off the table as well, and it may have been the last shot for the former 49ers signal-caller.

[Featured Image by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images]