Colin Kaepernick apparently agrees with notion he's being treated unfairly
You’ve seen the disclaimer on Twitter profiles: Retweets don’t equal an endorsement.
So we can’t be sure exactly why free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick retweeted the following five tweets. But let’s assume he agrees with the common thread of these messages:
Seahawks, Kaepernick aren’t apart on money | ProFootballTalk https://t.co/EMOfiXCCtH
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) June 5, 2017
The story that Kaepernick isn't being signed because of his salary demands is a lie. It's a straight up lie.
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) June 5, 2017
‼️‼️ @shannonsharpe: The Seahawks NEVER intended to sign @Kaepernick7 pic.twitter.com/mWAOxM6NMP
— KnowYourRightsCamp (@yourrightscamp) June 5, 2017
Via @TheYoungTurks: @Kaepernick7 is now treated worse than wife beaters, drunk drivers, dog fighters, and sexual abusers (Part 1) pic.twitter.com/6Ba8VMNfwl
— KnowYourRightsCamp (@yourrightscamp) June 5, 2017
Via @TheYoungTurks: @Kaepernick7 is now treated worse than wife beaters, drunk drivers, dog fighters, and sexual abusers (Part 2) pic.twitter.com/laEx0ZwK23
— KnowYourRightsCamp (@yourrightscamp) June 5, 2017
Again, those five tweets were all shared from Kaepernick’s verified account. Draw your own conclusions.
This has to be a frustrating time for Kaepernick. The Seattle Seahawks brought him in for a visit, then signed Austin Davis, who didn’t take an NFL snap last season. Davis has 13 career touchdowns; Kaepernick had 16 touchdowns last season on a woebegone San Francisco 49ers team. Even Kaepernick’s biggest critics would have a very, very tough time arguing Davis is a better quarterback than Kaepernick. Kaepernick is clearly better. Davis got the job.
Most of the possible reasons Kaepernick is unsigned were already debunked, but the Seahawks passing on him feels like a much different chapter in the story. It’s a team with an offense that fits his skills, was very familiar with him from NFC West battles, gave him his first known visit during free agency and still passed.
Was it money? NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported the sides were “apart on money,” then clarified that no offer was ever made by the Seahawks. Pro Football Talk reported the two sides weren’t apart on money, and make what you will of Kaepernick retweeting that report. It certainly appears as if Kaepernick was telling the world that money wasn’t an issue.
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Was it just football reasons? In other cases of inferior quarterbacks getting signed this offseason – Blaine Gabbert signing with the Arizona Cardinals or Mark Sanchez signing with the Chicago Bears for a couple examples – one could at least argue those players fit those teams’ schemes better. It’s hard to buy the Seahawks passed for football reasons. They decided to interview Kaepernick, a player they already knew very well, and still signed a worse quarterback. Even Pete Carroll said he thought Kaepernick was a starting-caliber player. The notion that the Seahawks didn’t want Kaepernick because he’s a starter and the Seahawks have a starter in Russell Wilson makes no sense. That excuse doesn’t hold any water from any team, but especially for a Seahawks team that preaches competition every day.
Was it because the Seahawks wanted to avoid a “media circus?” While the “media circus” notion is entirely overblown – Richard Sherman wouldn’t screw up a coverage on Sunday because he was asked a Kaepernick question in the locker room Wednesday – and doesn’t exist in reality (Bleacher Report’s Mike Tanier poked all the holes in it), some NFL teams buy that nonsense. But the Seahawks? They’re the most outspoken team in the NFL and they encourage player expression.
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There are plenty of unanswered questions after the Seahawks passed. What happened between the time the Seahawks agreed to bring Kaepernick in for a visit and him leaving without an offer? Did Kaepernick blow the visit? Did his agents let the Seahawks know what kind of deal it would take to sign him (hence, Garafolo’s first “apart on money” report) and that was a deal breaker? Was there pressure on the Seahawks to pass, and if so, from who? Does it really have to do with Wilson somehow? Whatever happened, there has to be a reason the Seahawks brought Kaepernick in for a visit and then decided to sign a lesser quarterback shortly after. It makes no sense for the Seahawks to bring in Kaepernick for a visit, and invite all the attention they knew was coming, if they had no plans to sign him. There’s a missing piece of the puzzle somewhere.
Either way, Kaepernick is unsigned, at this point probably waiting for an injury to open up a spot. There aren’t any obvious options left for him after Seattle passed. And, based on his retweets, he seems confused and/or frustrated. But last August, he predicted this.
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“I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed,” Kaepernick said when he started his national anthem protest. “If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”
Jump ahead to early June, and Kaepernick indirectly venting through the retweet button. Even if he has no regrets, maybe he didn’t believe he’d be passed over this offseason as a free agent, often for much lesser talents, with the growing possibility his NFL career could be over at age 29.
For now, Kaepernick waits. There are plenty of unanswered questions, and even Kaepernick is probably curious about the answers.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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