Oakland Raiders: Is Colin Kaepernick an option during rebuild?

If the Oakland Raiders were to move on from quarterback Derek Carr and enter total rebuild, would Colin Kaepernick be an option to fill the void?

Last week, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid settled their collusion lawsuit against the NFL for an undisclosed amount of money. Shortly after the news broke that the two sides had agreed to settle, the NFL Players Association released a statement stating that they hoped that Kaepernick got his chance soon. While Reid just signed a three-year extension with the Carolina Panthers, will Kaepernick get another opportunity?

While there is uncertainty with Kaepernick, there is also uncertainty in Oakland with current quarterback Derek Carr. With the team on the verge of a total rebuild and many teams in need of a quarterback, there have been rumors swirling throughout the year that the Raiders may be willing to part with Carr if the price is right.

That has to beg the question, if Carr is traded, would Jon Gruden be willing to run with Kaepernick for a year or two while completing their rebuild?

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The Raiders currently have around $71.25 million in cap space (per Over The Cap), and although the rumors are being dispelled that Kaepernick requested $20 million from the Alliance of American Football, Oakland would have well enough to give him that.

Kaepernick would not cost much to obtain, maybe between $8-10 million per year, even though there are rumors that he requested double that from a start up league that currently pays its players $75,000 in non-guaranteed money.

If the Raiders were to part with Carr, it would probably be after June 1 where the team would see a cap relief of $20 million, while only having to eat $2.5 million in dead money. If he were traded prior to June 1, Oakland would have to eat $7.5 million in dead money while only seeing $15 million in cap space, which still would not be a lot for a team looking to rebuild.

Not to mention, the Raiders are on the brink of a complete move and transition, and adding Kaepernick would absolutely sell tickets and generate buzz around the team about to leave its current home and fans in Oakland. As Las Vegas is in the near future, Kaepernick could tag along with the Raiders.

The Raiders are at the beginning of a total rebuild, already trading Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper for multiple first rounders and other draft assets, it would be farfetched to guess that other veterans, including Carr, could also be traded for future assets as well. It would be extremely enticing and hard to turn down a trade for Carr if the deal included one first rounder and other draft assets.

Should Carr be traded, Kaepernick should be in the discussion to bridge the Raiders in their time of transition and rebuild.