Should the Lions sign Colin Kaepernick?

[D]

Would he come? Would he not? That’s not the question… the question is should the Lions sign Colin Kaepernick?

[B.C.FAN]

I wish someone had signed Kaepernick years ago. For the Lions, he would just be a distraction. People would expect him to start immediately, even though he hasn't played in years and has never played Canadian football. Even Doug Flutie started as a backup to Joe Paopao and struggled to adjust in 1990. The Lions should stick with Vernon Adams for the immediate future unless Nathan Rourke becomes available.

[DanoT]

Kaepernick could have come to the CFL years ago, but imo he was not interested because playing in Canada would do nothing to advance his cause(s) in the US. Nothing has really changed except he is older and less qualified.

Why the Lions would waste a neg list spot on Kaepernick is beyond my understanding.

[Hambone]

Big nothing burger me thinks. Only rationale I could come up with, weak as it is, is they are into the expanded PR window now. They might be looking for a new backup for 2024 as Evans is on a one year deal and hasn't given anybody warm and fuzzy feelings about making him a priority to retain.

[TheLionKing]

Why ????

[Belize City Lion]

I respect Kaepernick, what he kneeled for, and the price he paid for his advocacy. But he hasn't played football for SEVEN years. This is not the time in his "career" to learn how to play the CFL game. Not only should the Lions not sign him, but Kaepernick should not accept a contract if one is to be offered. At this point his legacy is at risk if he was to play in the CFL and failed to succeed, just as many other former NFL QBs have failed at our game. The racists and the alt-right would be jumping for joy and screaming "I told you so" if Kaepernick, 7 years removed from pro football, did anything less than light up the CFL.

[Sir Purrcival]

The goal is always to improve your team. CK was a quality player. It costs very little to invite the guy to camp and then cut him if he can't cut it.

[Blitz]

The goal is always to improve your team. CK was a quality player. It costs very little to invite the guy to camp and then cut him if he can't cut it. Sir Purrcival

He would at least likely be better at the quarterback sneak than what he have had so far this year with Davis. I'm ok with Kaepernick wanting to come to the CFL, if he chose to.

However, I did have some difficulty with his letter to the New York Jets.

This week a New York radio personalty on the Breakfast Club blasted Kapernick for the letter and stated the following:

"That letter was tragically sad and downright pathetic. Colin Kaepernick has let his setback become his identity, and I hate that for him. It pains to see that man still begging to be in a league that he called racist and he compared to a plantation.”

He didn’t stop there, either.

“And I hate that he can never speak for himself. He always got somebody else speaking for him or putting out his message for him. That’s so wack to me. I wish Colin the best in all his endeavors but just begging these same people you called racist for an opportunity is pitiful.”

Its a difficult matter to comment on. On the one hand, I respect and admire Kaepernick for putting his beliefs on the line, and although I would prefer my sports and politics and social issues to be separate, I also know that is not the way the world works.

Most football fans, for the most part, have indicated, in a variety of ways, that they do not want political or social issues to constantly be thrown at them when they buy their ticket and come out to watch a football game. Its not that they don't think these issues are important but don't want sporting events to become soap boxes - not that they should be ignored and there should be avenues to do so, but they don't believe Game Day is the time or place.

Instead they just get away for a couple of hours from the big issues of the time and relax and have some fun.

Anyway, back to the specific of whether Kaepernick could still play in the CFL, at age 35, after being out of the game for 7 years is hard to know. He has keep in shape and kept throwing but that is one heck of a lot of rust too.

[KnowItAll]

I respect Kaepernick, what he kneeled for, and the price he paid for his advocacy. But he hasn't played football for SEVEN years. This is not the time in his "career" to learn how to play the CFL game. Not only should the Lions not sign him, but Kaepernick should not accept a contract if one is to be offered. At this point his legacy is at risk if he was to play in the CFL and failed to succeed, just as many other former NFL QBs have failed at our game. The racists and the alt-right would be jumping for joy and screaming "I told you so" if Kaepernick, 7 years removed from pro football, did anything less than light up the CFL.

he has a legacy??

[Toppy Vann]

NO. And he ain't coming.

Tom Brady showed more interest in the CFL than Kaepernick and he was joking around.

Johnny Manzell was not dissimilar. He came but had no interest in this league. He's never been one to speak of this league.

I don't grasp how he thinks he can sit out this long and expect any NFL team to sign him. If it was football he wanted to play, he'd have been playing.

Chad Kelly seemed to come with only an NFL return in mind but it's now looking like he is solely looking at the CFL and Toronto.
He signed a deal now that says if he were to take an NFL window shot, he'd be out $250K. I doubt his agent would have advised signing that contract if he is still thinking NFL but just try to max the dollars in the deal.

Kelly sounds more like Bo Levi less than an year after comparing himself to NFL starters. He had only that big GC off the bench win to show for it. Now he's looking like a winner. Facts are he hadn't played much since 2016 and I think it was Jim Barker who said that sort of meaning no NFL team is going to chase him.

If the guy isn't keen on being here, it will fail.

Also, Vernon Adams hasn't always felt supported as a starter and at this time in the season, talk of Kaepernick might be the distraction he doesn't need.

[Sir Purrcival]

You are probably correct but truthfully, none of us really knows what CK would or would not be interested in. As far as VA is concerned, every new year, could mean replacement by a different player. Comes with the territory. The only factor that should be involved if deciding to pursue is whether or not there is a belief in a player's ability to make the team better.

[Toppy Vann]

When Wally Buono tossed him on the Neg list it made sense. This time is nonsense.

https://3downnation.com/2023/09/29/b-c- ... arterback/

In 2019, he approached the now-defunct Alliance of American Football and the XFL about playing in their leagues, but reportedly requested a salary of $20 million. If his self-valuation has not dramatically changed, the CFL will not be a viable option and most around the league do not view him as a realistic possibility to play in Canada.

Not sure anyone added Tom Brady to their Neg List after this joking comment:

Post

Mad Dog Sports Radio
@MadDogRadio
After Sunday, Tom Brady is now 4-0 outside the US.

Watch out, Canada.

"I’m hoping I can get to go play in the CFL at some point… things have gone pretty well outside of the country.”

All-new 𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗚𝗼! with
@TomBrady
&
@JimGrayOfficial

:

https://apple.co/3UWq9zB

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/cfl/new ... mxp9oeagba

[Blitz]

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick hasn't played in the league since 2016, though the ex-San Francisco 49ers star doesn't appear to be hurting financially. Kaepernick's net worth is north of $20 million, according to reports. That's not a bad number for someone who played in the league for just six seasons.

Colin Kaepernick is an American football player and social activist who has a net worth of $20 million. During his six seasons in the NFL, between 2011 and 2016, Colin earned a bit more than $43 million in salary (before taxes and fees). His peak NFL salary was $14.3 million which came during the 2016 season. He is also a political and civil rights activist, best known for kneeling during the national anthem during NFL games in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in the United States.

Kaepernick made $43,479,216 over the course of his National Football League career. He made more than $10 million per year in his final two seasons in the league. Prior to the 2014 season, Kaepernick received a $14 million signing bonus.While Kaepernick hasn't played in the league in seven years, he still has a contract with Nike.

Nike decided to stand by the quarterback, despite his ousting from the National Football League. "In 1988, Nike promoted the image of a solitary senior citizen running on a bridge not, presumably, because it was looking to break into the octogenarian market but because it was hoping to sell inspiration. The company seems to have aligned itself with Kaepernick for the same reason. While some people rage that yet again in America an ingrate-rebel has been rewarded, there is another narrative that Kaepernick conjures—that of an individual, driven by conscience, fighting a lonely crusade against forces more powerful than he is," the New Yorker wrote in 2018 of Nike's decision to stand by Kaepernick.

Kaepernick continues to show interest in playing in the NFL again, though it doesn't sound like it's going to happen. However, Kaepernick could take opportunities to play football in the XFL or CFL. It doesn't seem like that will happen either, though.Kaepernick has remained busy in business, too. He's releasing his own football video game and has also released a book.

Source: The Spun