Colin Kaepernick’s career could be reaching its conclusion, with Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti’s resistance being interpreted as a sign that the former Super Bowl starter no longer has a place in the NFL.
After a torrid start to his career that included a trip to the NFC Championship game in his first full year as a starter and a Super Bowl trip in his second, Kaepernick has seen a sharp drop-off and ultimately lost his starting job with the San Francisco 49ers. With the team indicating it would cut him in this offseason, Kaepernick decided to opt out of his contract and become a free agent.
Kaepernick drew plenty of controversy last year when he decided to kneel during the national anthem as a form of protest against police brutality. The move drew widespread criticism, with Kaepernick even encountering protests in some cities he visited.
Kaepernick has seen little interest on the market but appeared to have an opening with the Baltimore Ravens when starter Joe Flacco went down with a back injury. With Flacco potentially missing the start of the season, the Ravens seemed likely to look for help behind likely starter Ryan Mallett.
There was some interest from Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome, but owner Steve Bisciotti has been resistant, ESPN reported. Though the team pushed back against these rumors, issuing a statement that Bisciotti did not make any directives not to sign Kaepernick, there are increasing rumors that the team’s resistance is real, and a sign that Kaepernick could have no future in the league.
Statement on today’s report regarding Colin Kaepernick: pic.twitter.com/ubfpwVA35O
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 2, 2017
I weighed in on @Kaepernick7 and Ray Lewis running interference on a Ravens contract https://t.co/zKv4mAWvY9
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) August 2, 2017
The Ravens appear to be the most logical team for Kaepernick. The team is in desperate need of a quality quarterback, with Mallett encountering some heavy struggles at training camp.
As Rob Woodfork of WTOP noted, Kaepernick is far-and-away the best remaining quarterback in the free agent market. He had a 90.7 QB rating on a bad 49ers team last year and a 72-to-30 touchdown-to-interception ratio that remains ninth best in the league.
Instead, Kaepernick is being pushed out of the league because of his political views, Woodfork wrote, which is evident in Bisciotti’s resistance to signing him.
“So that means, Kaepernick really can’t get a gig because of his silent resistance last year, a fact Giants owner John Mara (whose father Wellington had no such reservations about employing Lawrence Taylor) and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti have openly admitted. While I applaud the honesty, this admission is especially hypocritical because, if Baltimore believes signing Kaepernick is a gray area, the Ravens organization has long demonstrated a willingness to live in a deep charcoal gray.”
While there could still be some opportunities beyond the Ravens — especially as quarterbacks are injured in training camp and the early part of the season — the NFL rumors point to the end of the line for Colin Kaepernick.
[Featured Image by Harry How/Getty Images]
