Colin Kaepernick Likely Killed Last Chance at NFL Return

Colin Kaepernick has made it clear for months that he still desires to play football in the NFL. Problem is no teams feels the same about him.

Since leaving San Francisco the 29-year old who once came yards away from a Super Bowl victory is still without a job. He’s spent his time doing volunteer work, spreading a positive message as he’s tried to do since setting off a firestorm with his sitting during the national anthem last year. That distraction has brought a lot of negative publicity to the league and it’s possible Kaepernick is the martyr who’s paying the price.

The running conspiracy is owners are colluding with each other to make sure the quarterback isn’t able to sign anywhere. Kaepernick himself revealed his own belief of those rumors when he filed a grievance against the league for essentially blackballing him when it’s clear he’s at least good enough to be a backup in pro football.

While it’s easy to understand his frustration, this move may end up dooming what little chance he had left of accomplishing that goal.

Kaepernick only made owners angry with this move

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News made a key point on the subject and why it has all but sealed the quarterbacks’ fate.

"“This legal move was a Hail Mary or publicity stunt, depending on your point of view. Regardless, there’s virtually no chance that a team would be willing to sign Kaepernick now.The justification for teams to steer clear had been that Kaepernick’s football ability simply wasn’t good enough at this stage of his career to warrant the accompanying distraction/circus/noise/attention. Some coaches didn’t believe that his skill set was a scheme fit, an unpopular but fair point……This grievance will all but seal Kaepernick’s NFL fate even if it shouldn’t. Owners uninterested in customer backlash a few months ago surely will have no interest in entertaining the thought of adding the polarizing figure today.”"

What’s interesting about this is why. If this was just about football, Kaepernick easily could’ve gone to the CFL. They showed considerable interest. Odds are he’d have dominated up north and made decent enough money. Yet he turned them down, basically saying it’s the NFL or nothing. So clearly the decision isn’t just about football. Is it about money? That’s possible. Kaepernick turned down repeated attempts to be traded from San Francisco. Often it was due to his generous contract.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Titanic Coastal Quarterback Shift

Then there’s also the possibility he wants to continue using the league and it’s worldwide media capabilities to further his message. It’s likely a combination of things. Either way it changes nothing. It doesn’t matter if he wins his grievance. No team can be forced to sign him. So it’s hard to see how he gets his wish granted any way through this.