There aren’t a few teams in the NFL today that are being saddled with problems in the quarterback position. Whether it’s because of injuries to starters or just plain bad work by their signal-callers, plenty of NFL squads are in dire need of help under center.
Unfortunately for free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick, guys like Matt Schaub, Bryan Weeden, Matt Barkley, and Josh Johnson all got a call from teams and got jobs while the former San Francisco 49ers star quarterback remains unemployed.
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It’s widely believed that Kaepernick has been ignored by NFL teams because of his role in sparking the league-wide phenomenon that is the protesting of social injustice and police brutality by way of kneeling down during the playing of the national anthem.
While Kaepernick has been successful in bringing attention to the issues he’s fighting for, it has seemingly come at the cost of his value in the quarterback market, a belief that Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James shares with plenty of Kaepernick supporters.
“I love football, but I’m not part of the NFL,” James told ESPN following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ practice Sunday. “I don’t represent the NFL. I don’t know their rules and regulations. But I do know Kap (Kaepernick) is getting a wrong doing, I do know that. Just watching, he’s an NFL player. He’s an NFL player and you see all these other quarterbacks out there and players out there that get all these second and third chances that are nowhere near as talented as him. It just feels like he’s been blackballed out of the NFL. So, I definitely do not respect that.
Like Kaepernick, LeBron James has also used his elevated platform as a podium to speak up against vital social issues that continue to plague the country, though it’s not as controversial as the quarterback’s ways.
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Kaepernick last appeared in an NFL game last year, playing 12 games for the 49ers before declining to pick up his player option with the team at the end of the 2016-17 season.