5 reasons the Raiders may have passed on signing Colin Kaepernick

Another reason Colin Kaepernick not added by Raiders

It seemed in 2021 the Raiders were constantly in the news, and not for the right reasons. And before you read any further, Colin Kaepernick did not commit any crimes nor am I lumping him in the same category as those that did. With that disclaimer out of the way let’s continue.

Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was arrested for a devastating car crash and subsequently released, head coach Jon Gruden resigned after incredibly offensive e-mails surfaced, and cornerback Damon Arnette polished off the list after getting released for threatening people on social media.

Raiders players, staff, and coaches were constantly bombarded with questions that had nothing to do with football and everything to do with the drama surrounding the team.

Luckily the team was able to pull it together and finish the season at 10-7 and a playoff berth but the hope was that the Raiders would enter the 2022 season without any attention other than football-specific questions.

Colin Kaepernick is not a player you have to worry about on or off the field but the fact of the matter is the rest of the Raiders roster would spend most of the 2022 season being asked about Kaepernick’s presence at the facility.

Would questions about social justice be a bad thing? No, these are questions that should be discussed and answered. But front office football personnel want their players thinking and talking about one thing; football.

Would Kaepernick be a distraction similar to the Ruggs/Arnette/Gruden distractions? Absolutely not. But could Raiders Owner Mark Davis and General Manager Dave Ziegler possibly discuss the off-field impact of having Kaepernick on* on the field?

Absolutely.