Comments

2
I think it's less to do with Kaepernick's specific political stances and more to do with the unnecessary distraction that his signing would bring. Do the Hawks really want a media circus at the VMAC on Day 1? It's just not worth it for a guy who may not take a meaningful snap all season.
3
Austin Davis signed for the minimum. If/when Kap signs, and he signs for the minimum, perhaps then this will be a provable case. But it's just speculation until then.
4
Maybe they didn't pick him because he's a shitty qb. Nah, that can't be it.
5
So many broad assumptions, so little time.
6
The Seahawks offered Kaepernick a contract, and he turned it down. It was a minimum contract worth around 900k, which is a hefty pay cut from his previous 19 million salary. But hey, why let actual facts get in the way of the narrative.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/27134…
7
@4,

If you think Austin Davis was a better option you're delusional. Dude didn't take a single snap in 2016. In 2015 he started two games and promptly committed 5 turnovers before being benched. Kaepernick had a respectable 4:1 TD/int ratio last year and is a few years removed from taking a team to within a few yards and botched play calls from a super bowl victory. He may in fact be a shitty QB, but he's an objectively better option than Davis.
8
@7: At least credit Deadspin for the argument you just cut and pasted:

http://deadspin.com/the-nfl-machine-has-…
9
So, just baseless speculation then? And a headline that presents that baseless speculation as fact? Worse than that, it doesn't really make sense. They knew all there was to know about his polotics, there was no question or mystery there.

More likely they wanted to know his plans and vision of what he wanted. Did he want to compete on a contender or did he want another opportunity to prove he can start? More likely is that he wants to start and he wants starter money. And good for him, he should be given another shot. But Seattle can't give him that, obviously.

There are also complications that can arise from having TOO good a backup QB, more than other positions. It opens the door to the dreaded QB controversy should Russ get hurt or slump.

Remember also the way the Seahawks dealt with their last backup with starting asperations. They waited until the last moment every year to sign T-Jack to a 1 year contract, just in case someone ever came calling with an opportunity legitimately compete for a starting job. So I wouldnt consider the door totally shut. A central part of Pete's pgilosphy is not standing in the way of someones ambitions.
10
@1 football games last over three hours, yet the ball is in play for about 11 minutes of that time. Clearly the culture that surrounds football is at least as significant as the game itself - probably the same goes for all sports. I would argue that the games themselves are secondary to the cultural rituals they facilitate.
11
Alex Smith turned out to be a decent NFL QB once he got decent coaching. Kaepernick was decent with good coaching, then terrible with lousy coaching.
12
So it turns out Strangers hacks are bad at sports writing too.
13
@8,

Well of course it was sourced directly from that article. Do you really think I'm interested in being the type of person to go around memorizing statistics of obscure, shitty football players? Or even quality ones for that matter? Does the omitted citation somehow invalidate the point?
14
It should probably be noted that with only the top 51 players counting against the cap right now (the NFL has weird rules), it leaves Seattle with about 9 million in cap space, which will drop to about 7 million once those last two players are accounted for.

You always want to have a few million available going into the season so if you see a lot of injuries, you can pay replacements without having to cut or restructure anyone.

So if Kaepernick was expecting what an average backup QB gets in the NFL these days (about 3-5 million), then there was no way he was getting signed from a purely financial viewpoint, especially since successful teams like to roll cap over from one year to the next.
15
@13: I mean, you didn't so much "source" data from that article as you did cut and paste lines directly from it. A decent person will credit original work from a writer instead of passing it off as their own, that's all. It certainly doesn't invalidate the point the original author made, I guess.

No need to get angry and defensive.
16
@9: rumors say that the controversy that would have happened is that the Seahawks hate Wilson..
There can be a small amount of doubt as to whether The Seahawks declined to sign Kaep for political reasons, there is no question that he is better than a large number of QBs who did get signed this offseason, including some starters.
17
Upon reading the headlines on Drudge, it does seem that Colin Kaepernick is perfectly qualified to play on the Saudi soccer team.
18
The NFL continues to lose market share and I wonder how many of these turning it off are like me. I can't stand the way the NFL exploits players at the costs of their health and sometimes their lives and then cuts them lose when they retire. I'm tired of the way it actively defends the egregious behaviors or rape and even dog torture while shaming Kaepernick or anyone that steps out of the chorus line singing the praises of red white and blue. And then there's the $5.4mil the NFL takes from the DoD (most is spent in the underclassed areas of US NFL market) to become a recruitment tool. And they don't even pay any taxes and have the temerity to demand the public fund their stadiums.

Fuck the NFL. It gets easier every year to stop watching a game I used to love for decade upon decade.
19
Confusing headline! This kind of formation -- "x did not y because of z" -- usually means "x did y, but not because of z", i.e. "I didn't do it for my health" or "she didn't date him because of his hot takes on international politics." Better: "the Seahawks nixed Kaepernick because of his politics"
20
Kap made $14M last year.
Austin Davis made $1M last year.

They picked Austin Davis because they don't have cap space for the extra cash. They are playing Wilson a ton of cash. They can't afford a backup quarter back for $10M+ and I don't think they would get rid of Wilson. Kap will get picked when someones number 1 gets hurt the first 4 pre-season games.
21
Fucking nonsense. Fake news.
22
@6 No one has actually said the Seahawks made Kaepernick an offer, all indications are that they didn’t make any offer. And that bullshit article you link to doesn’t say an offer was actually made either.
23
Any facts to support your "story" or are you just writing an opinion?
25
For fucks sake, you don't even know what $ Kaep is asking for. Austin Davis IF he makes the team will get paid league minimum. NO WAY Kaep takes league minimum and if he does he's an idiot for not saying so to attract more interest.

But no, here comes the lazy-ass Stranger with a lazy hot take on the race card because of course.
26
Does it matter at all that the video clearly shows Joe Dixon was shoved and hit first by the girl as he was walking away? He should never have hit her that hard, and he has apologized repeatedly, but watch the video. There is a blanket shaming here that misses the shades of grey. This feminist will likely get flamed for this, but people shouldn't hit people and expect not to be hit back.

And yes, Kap would've been a much better choice, IF he would have signed for the same amount. If he needed $5m/season or so - a third of what he was making - Hawks just didn't have the kap room.
27
@16 - I agree he is better than lots of QBs with contracts and at least a few starters.

And i am not saying he is being treated fairly by the league, fans, the media, etc. I just dont think that was the reason for the Seahawks specifically. I mean Pete practically wrote him a letter of recommendation for a starting job.

But there are only 32 starting spots. And most teams with subpar starters are either pot committed because of contract money or they really beleive they have thr QB of the future and don't want to ruin their confidence or create a controversy.

And the plain fact is that Keap isn't a sure thing. He has been up and down. I think it was team disfunction, but most teams with QB needs are disfunctional on other levels.

I don't really believe there is a bunch of dissatisfaction with RW3 in the locker room, but any time you bring in someone who has had the level of success that he has, you open thr door to controversy. Some percentage of people will think he is better. It is a dangerous thing. Especially for Pete. Supposedly every job is a competition at VMAC. But you can't really be switching QBs every couple weeks. So what happens when RW3 has a bad few weeks and Keap is killing it in practice? Do you abandon your philosophy or do you start a QB carousel?
28
@27 I haven't ruled out the dislike of Wilson in the locker room yet. Dude is robotic and reminds me of A_rod a bit. I'm white as hell, but his good boy shtick seems like a bit too much sometimes. I don't mind being wrong, and I hope I am. What he shows the public is almost perfect, but when he blew the first play of the 2013 NFC championship game against SF he went back to the sideline and tried to blame the tight end for a second. Maybe his teammates are noticing that shit more than we are. I don't know. Again, I hope not. I like his image, but I'm still not sure about him.
29
And in other news, the sky is blue.

Did the author just realize this about Kaep?
30
Kinda not impressed with this assumptive article. Not once do you mention the dramatic difference in salary expectations between the two players. Very one-sides and in my opinion, click bait/trigger seeking. Bad form, Stranger, bad form.
31
Geez.....is every writer in America missing the point? First and only: Kaep is a world class athlete, as are all NFL football players. BUT.....the sole reason for their existence is to play a game that entertains the CONSUMERS of said spectacle. If a player does something that negatively impacts attendance or viewership, he is a detriment to the league and thus, he must be removed. Bottom line, the escapism that is fandom, must not suffer from interjection of any beliefs which cause fans to abandon the game. YES, KAEP IS A CAPABLE FOOTBALL PLAYER. THAT IS IRRELEVANT. His actions undoubtedly caused PAYING customers to not buy the product. So he has to go. I am neither supporting or rejecting his politics. I am saying that people don't want to have to deal with real life societal drama when all they want to do is escape to a game for a couple hours. WITHOUT SOCIAL COMMENTARY. They have to return to real life soon enough.
32
Colin cam always plai in the CFL. It would be a good fiit
33
Just wondering if the author knows anything about football or just chose to weigh in on this "issue" because he is disappointed the Hawks didn't sign Kap like Kshama suggested.
34
@ 28 - If that were true, it would just be yet another reason Colin wouldn't be a good fit that has nothing to do with his politics. It doesn't seem like a big issue from anything reputable I have seen (discounting BS clickbait...like this article). But who knows, really. I think, at least to some small degree, it is always true of elite QBs.

And I always try not to read too much into things like the sideline exchange you mention. For one unless you are a former NFL QB who watched the coaches film or something, we as fans we never really know who was at fault on a given play. We also don't know if it was blaming or just "hey, did you see something I missed that made you run that route instead of this one?" to see who missed something to clear it up for next time.

@31 - That is a real philosophy of some teams, kinda.* But not the Seahawks.**

* With the caveat that almost anything will be forgiven for a a talented enough player. A lot of people rightly object that Colin's politics seems to be a bigger deal to some teams/GMs than a guy who beats the shit out of his wife. That is a problem. Your logic, probably accurately, suggests the problem is a reflection of society and what people get more upset about...but that doesn't make it better.

** Thankfully the Seahawks have a pretty high tolerance for personality and politics. They have made some allowances for players with a history of violence off the field, but I have always gotten the impression that they consider that type of legal trouble a much bigger deal than controversial politics.

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