The evidence in opposition of 49ers CEO Jed York’s statement that Colin Kaepernick is not being blackballed is, in a word, overwhelming.
Of all the free-agent quarterbacks on the market last year, only one had taken his team to the Super Bowl – Kaepernick. Comparing him to the players who turned out to be free-agent starters in Mike Glennon, Jay Cutler, and Brian Hoyer – Kaepernick has a career higher passer rating than all of them and a lower interception percentage. All those free-agent signings, all but Cutler have been benched.
Kaepernick was also a better runner.
Delving into more advanced statistics, Kaepernick was the second most pressured quarterback in the league last year and yet threw five touchdown passes and only one interception under duress, which is outstanding.
Kaepernick was also coming off of three off-season surgeries last year, and played about 15 pounds under his standard weight. Safety Eric Reid said Kaepernick is more than back to being his muscular self, particularly in the biceps region. Reid saw Kaepernick on Monday night in New York before Reid and other players met with some NFL owners about helping communities of color.
Furthermore, when Albert Breer asked four anonymous general managers from quarterback-starved NFL teams, most of them mentioned Kaepernick in the same breath as Robert Griffin III. However, Griffin III rapidly deteriorated after his first two years in the league.
What many fail to grasp is Kaepernick reversed the trend of his declining play last year, when he posted a quarterback rating of 90.7 and threw 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. Kaepernick also didn’t run nearly as much last season despite playing behind an injury-ravaged offensive line. Kaepernick was also throwing to possibly the worst group of receivers in the NFL league.
Kaepernick, essentially was a pocket passer last year, and yes, he was inaccurate at times. However, he was better than the top free-agent quarterbacks that were signed and far better than the backups, including the Blaine Gabbert, who is now behind Carson Palmer in Arizona.
From a source close to Kaepernick the reason he was not signed is that many general managers didn’t like him. Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report said when he wrote a tweet saying that Kaepernick was unemployed because of his protest, he got texts from NFL executives saying they were angered by Kaepernick and felt he was disrespecting the country.
Also, for those general managers who did consider him, many apparently felt they would be unable to convince their owners to sign him. According to Reid, one owner at the meeting between owners and players on Tuesday at the league meetings in New York said he had lost sponsorships because of the protest issue.
Owners may believe they would lose more sponsors if Kaepernick were signed.