Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick remains a free agent. On Friday, 49ers general manager John Lynch stated that Kaepernick was nearly signed by an NFL team near the start of free agency. "He was, in everyone's mind in the league, close to signing a deal with a team at a really good number and it fell through, apparently," Lynch said during an interview on KNBR.
So Kaepernick continues to wait while quarterback-needy teams remain out there. One Academy Award-nominated director expressed his thoughts on the league's refusal to sign Kaepernick after having brunch with the quarterback on Sunday. Spike Lee called out the league and, more specifically, the New York Jets via Instagram for what he believes is a shun of Kaepernick.
Lee brings up an interesting point: whether or not Kaepernick is a starting-caliber quarterback is up for debate. No matter what you think of Kaepernick personally, it's hard to imagine that every NFL team believes that the free agent quarterback is worse than what they already have – or even worse than an empty roster spot. If you assume that each NFL team will take four quarterbacks into training camp, that's 128 players at the position. Drop that number to three quarterbacks per team and you still have 96 players. Are there really 96 quarterbacks out there better than Kaepernick, who has starting experience and playoff victories on his resume?
Kaepernick's protest of the national anthem last season may have a lot to do with the lack of offers being thrown his way. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes that may be the reason why quarterback-needy teams like the Jets and Cleveland Browns have not come calling. Even the Denver Broncos, who heavily pursued the quarterback last offseason, have been uninterested.
Now, it is possible that Kaepernick ends up somewhere soon. After all, this year's quarterback draft class is not being viewed as strong. Lynch made it sound less likely that San Francisco might still be a possibility. "I think the likelihood of that happening has gone down significantly, but we're not going to close our mind or our options on anyone, including him," Lynch said during that same KNBR interview. So far, the 49ers have opted to go with Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley at quarterback.
In the meantime, Kaepernick has already stated that he will end his protest and stand for the national anthem in 2017. He has also continued his humanitarian work, donating $100,000 every month to organizations that support his views on racial discrimination and social injustice.
On Friday, Kaepernick announced that he was able to acquire a 60-ton cargo plane to help send food and water to the needy in Somalia, whose population has been suffering through a massive drought.
We got the plane! Now it's time to raise funds for food and water. You can donate at https://t.co/5BzrLjT3SO #LoveArmyForSomalia pic.twitter.com/sAKX2t9tdd
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) March 17, 2017
Earlier this month, Kaepernick opted out of the final year of his contract with the 49ers in order to test free agency. It was highly unlikely that the 49ers would have kept him on the roster even if he hadn't. The quarterback carried a price tag of about $14.9 million heading into the 2017 season.
With the 49ers likely moving on from the quarterback who helped take them to a Super Bowl during his first season as a starter in 2012, it will be interesting to see where Kaepernick eventually lands.
