With the Seattle Seahawks releasing backup quarterback Trevone Boykin Tuesday, shortly after the release of a report that he brutally assaulted his girlfriend, the team is in the market for someone to play understudy to Russell Wilson.
And the first name on nearly everyone's lips is Colin Kaepernick.
The former 49ers quarterback has been out of the league since the end of the 2016 season. There are many theories as to why.
He wants to be a starter, not a backup.
He should be a starter, not a backup.
He's being blackballed for his social activism and kneeling during the national anthem (There have been accusations of owners colluding not to sign him).
He's not really that good.
He wants too much money.
Whatever the reason, Kaepernick continues to be shut out for backup jobs that end up going to quarterbacks that don't have nearly his resume.
Just Tuesday, the Houston Texans signed 34-year-old journeyman Brandon Weeden to back up second-year starter and apparent franchise quarterback DeShaun Watson.
Weeden's career accomplishments-- 57.9% completions, 31 TDs and 30 INTs, zero Super Bowl appearances -- pale compared to Kaepernick -- 59.8% completions, 72 TDs (plus 13 rushing TDs), 30 INTs, a five-yard incompletion from a Super Bowl victory and one Richard Sherman-tipped pass away from a second Super Bowl appearance.
More importantly, the mobile Kaepernick better fits backing up the mobile Watson than Weeden does.
But lo and behold, Kaepernick remains on the curb.
Another example: The Cleveland Browns have had 28 different starting quarterbacks since they returned to the league in 1999 -- many unproven rookies who the Browns took a chance on. And the Browns just traded away their starter from last season. They are still looking for a quarterback. But apparently, there is zero interest in Kaepernick, a proven starter.
The opinions were out Tuesday that the Seahawks -- who met with Kaepernick the last offseason but didn't sign him -- should give him another look.
"The Seahawks’ mantra is still 'Always compete,' right? Who is going to push Wilson more: Kaepernick ... or Austin Davis, whom they opted for last year and remains an unsigned free agent?" writes Seattle Times columnist Larry Stone.
If you go back in time and ask 2017 Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, he thinks Kaepernick is a starter in the NFL.
"We have a starter. But he's a starter in this league, and I can't imagine that somebody won't give him the chance to play," Carroll said last June.
Nobody has given him that chance. Although there were rumors the Baltimore Ravens were considering it, there is no indication any team other than the Seahawks have met with Kaepernick since becoming a free agent after the 2016 season.
Signing Kaepernick comes with risks in the form of fan acceptance. Seahawks fans remember him as the enemy -- a 49er. But perhaps that will be tempered by the adverse reaction many Seahawks fans to Sherman signing with San Francisco after being let go by Seattle. Maybe those fans will be excited for even the microscopic chance that Kaepernick can get some payback while in blue and green.
Some fans may not be ready to forgive Kaepernick for launching the protest during the anthem movement in the NFL. Fresh in their minds is the image of former Seahawk Michael Bennett and others sitting on the bench for much of the season as the national anthem played -- something that may not have happened if not for what Kaepernick started.
But there is little question that of the free agent quarterbacks out there who could potentially back up Russell Wilson, almost none have the resume and the play style that matches up like Kaepernick.
With the Seahawks undergoing so much turnover this offseason, it remains to be seen if they will give Kaepernick a second look -- and a second chance.
