By Louis Addeo-Weiss
If you have a smartphone, television, and pay attention to sports, you’re probably aware of the recent news surrounding Colin Kaepernick and his possible return to the NFL.
What seems two-years too late, considering the former San Francisco ‘49ers QB opted out of his contract in March of 2017 following the hiring of Kyle Shanahan to be their head coach.
While not playing for two-plus seasons, and following a stir of controversy in the wake of the former University of Nevada star’s kneeling exercises in protest of ongoing police brutality, Kaepernick will hold a scheduled workout in Atlanta this coming Saturday in hopes of finding himself back on the gridiron.
According to a recent ESPN article, 11 teams, which include the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Washington Redskins.
Amid later reports, Kaepernick’s former team, the ‘49ers, and the Seattle Seahawks plan to attend as well.
Before getting to the three possible franchises who could best use his services, it is important to note the existing factors – Kaepernick has not played an NFL game since 2016 and is now 32-year old, not exactly a spring chicken by the NFL’s standards.
From 2014-16, the ‘49ers went a combined 11-24 in his games started by Kaep, with the dual-threat QB being sacked 116 times over the course of those 35 games.
Adjusted passing metrics weren’t kind to him either, with pro-football reference noting an average Cmp%+ (Completion Percentage Index) of 87 over those three years. For some brief context, 100 is considered to be average.
Kapernick’s 116 sacks over that time gave him a Sack Percentage Index (Sack%+) score of 70 (100 also being average).
Miami Dolphins
Given their instabilities at the quarterback position since the trading of Ryan Tannehill following the 2018 season, Kaepernick landing in Miami seems logical. Journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is 36 and under contract for 2020, doesn’t appear to be their long term answer given these factors. In 6 starts this season, Fitzpatrick has lead the ‘Fins to a 2-4 record, throwing 8 touchdowns against 8 interceptions (76 Int%+), and with recently acquired Josh Rosen not seen to be the long term answer in South Beach, Kaepernick could find his way into a starting job quicker than expected.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Continuing down the line of Florida franchises, we have the hapless Bucs. While many of Jameis Winston’s counting statistics are nice (17,393 passing yards, 105-72 TD-INT), the fact of the matter is that the former Florida State Seminole has only led the team to one winning season since debuting in 2015. Though he’ll most likely play elsewhere in 2020, Winston’s time in Tampa has run its course, and Kaepernick could be an ideal fit to replace him.
Seattle Seahawks
Now, the first two teams appears as ones who give Kaepernick the best chance at starting. This is most certainly not the case in Seattle. Russell Wilson is in the midst of arguably the best season of his career thus far, as evidenced by the Seahawks 8-2 record and the QB’s career best 68.5% completion percentage.
Wilson also leads all NFL quarterbacks in touchdowns (23), touchdown% (7%), and Passer Rating (114.9). Bringing Kaepernick to the Pacific Northwest, a region of the country where the cameras won’t be on him the way they’d be in, say, New York or Philadelphia, would be good for someone whose name has been all over the headlines these past few years. Learning from someone such as Wilson, a QB who possesses dual-threat abilities to a greater extent than Kaepernick, would be beneficial for the latter’s career.
