The Las Vegas Raiders hosted free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick for a workout this week. They did not sign him, and here is why.
The last time Colin Kaepernick played in a professional football game was in 2017 which ended in a narrow loss to the Seahawks.
The 49ers’ season ended with a record of 2-14 and the head coach and general manager were fired as a result.
It’s no secret that Kaepernick was released and never picked up by another team, partially due to his play, injuries, and obviously his public protests and subsequent lawsuit against the NFL.
Now six years later during the week of May 23, 2022, Kaepernick received a chance* at re-entering the league with a workout hosted by the Las Vegas Raiders.
A franchise known for taking chances on cast-away players and also as frontrunners in the social justice movement it was not a surprise that the Raiders were the first NFL team to give Kaepernick an opportunity.
However, while Kaepernick reportedly “impressed” the Raiders’ scouts and front office personnel he left the Vegas desert without a contract.
Here are a few (speculated) theories as to why.
Why did the Las Vegas Raiders pass on Colin Kaepernick? The Patriot Way?
Raiders Head Coach Josh McDaniels comes from the Bill Belichick tree of coaching and the style in New England is a unique one.
The bottom line is under Bill Belichick, players are expected to give the media the bare minimum and to focus on football at all times. Belichick doesn’t understand social media, nor does he want to, and apparently journalism isn’t his favorite subject either if you’ve ever watched his press conferences.
While Josh McDaniels is definitely not the same person as Belichick he definitely picked up some of Belichick’s tendencies over the years and Belichick’s level of success cannot be ignored.
The “Patriot Way” as it is called is supposedly not as fun an environment but it usually leads to winning.
McDaniels may have figured that Kaepernick would not fit in with the new “Raider Way” he is hoping to implement in Vegas as the media would be a constant presence even more so than they already are if Kaepernick was on the roster.
The swirl of media attention would be thunderous, as it has been this week and that is only because Kaepernick was working out.
If Kaepernick actually gained a spot on the team the media’s presence would be even more momentous, and if McDaniels follows the Belichick method Kaepernick’s consistent social media presence would not be a fit. This leads to a possible second reason…
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.
Reason no. 3 the Raiders didn’t sign Colin Kaepernick
This also is not saying that Derek Carr directly had anything to do with Kaepernick not getting signed this week. But the fact of the matter is Carr has had a rollercoaster of a career with the Raiders and his position as the quarterback of the Raiders is constantly under scrutiny.
Whenever Carr has a rough game or the Raiders lose in an embarrassing fashion (it happens) the fans and critics call for his job. The last two seasons anytime Carr struggled the media called for Mariota to step in; if Kaepernick was on the roster it’s likely the public would clamor for him to take the field.
Based on how long it has been since Kaepernick was behind the center it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think fans would hope to see him play regardless of how Carr is performing.
With the workout this week in May McDaniels told the media that he did not notify Carr about the workout opportunity presented to Kaepernick. McDaniels emphasized that Carr is cemented as the quarterback of the Raiders.
It would not be unrealistic to assume that if Kaepernick joined Carr in the quarterback room that Carr may be looking behind his back constantly to make sure he isn’t being unseated as the de facto leader of the team.
Because we know backup Nick Mullens likely won’t be taking his spot, but who knows how Kaepernick could look. I
s there a chance Kaepernick would be a better option than Carr? Not likely, but he does bring his mobility and speed, similar to Mariota, that could be useful.
While he should always be worried about losing his job in order to stay competitive and continue to work hard, should McDaniels begin his first season with Carr in this fashion?
How good was Colin Kaepernick’s workout?
While the general news media reported that Kaepernick impressed in his workout with the Raiders there was never any actual confirmation from McDaniels or General Manager Dave Ziegler. McDaniels actually refused to comment on the outcome of the workout;
"Just by standard procedure, we will only talk about the people that are on our team [General manager] Dave [Ziegler] and his staff have worked out tons of guys this spring, and we really don’t make comments about the evaluations that we’ve made; or what they look like, what they didn’t look like. They’re kind of private for us as we look at things to try to make decisions to make the team better. Josh McDaniels via NFL.com"
While it wouldn’t be the classiest move to come out of the facility and announce that Kaepernick doesn’t have it anymore it isn’t common practice for teams to release the results of private workouts anyways.
The teams will release information about failed medicals or missed physicals but providing in-depth details about private workouts is not all that common.
However, it is easy to speculate that Kaepernick hasn’t played a down in the NFL since January of 2017 and it is possible he has lost some of his ability in the five years that followed.
Kaepernick isn’t old but 34 years of age isn’t exactly a spring chicken in the NFL either, unless your name is Tom Brady. Things also did not end on a good note in San Francisco, taking the protests completely out of it, Kaepernick’s final season in the NFL was not ideal.
With no concrete evidence, no one can say he did not impress at the workout but the one thing we do know is he left the facility without signing a contract.
Reason no. 5 the Raiders didn’t sign Colin Kaepernick
Of all the possible reasons that have been cited in this article for why Kaepernick may not have been signed this one is the most likely.
Money is king in the NFL and time and time again money is what fuels the owner’s decision-making. Who can blame them? It’s a billion-dollar industry and why settle for less if you can get more.
We would be foolish to assume Raiders owner Mark Davis did not think about money and ticket sales when it came to debating signing Kaepernick. Did he think about losing ticket sales from fans that don’t share the same convictions as Kaepernick? Apparel sales? Sponsors pulling out that may have disagreed with Kaepernick’s stance?
The answer to all of those questions is yes.
It was documented that viewership of NFL games declined in 2016 and 2017 compared to 2015 which was before Kaepernick’s protest.
In 2016 viewers dropped by 1.4 million and in 2017 a whopping three million. The money issue is not definitive because it’s also safe to say a significant portion of Raider Nation agrees with Kaepernick’s social justice movement and would love to purchase a #7 jersey at the Raider Image.
Additionally, since 2017 additional high-profile incidents have occurred that have drawn more supporters to Kaepernick’s cause. But the risk is there and Mark Davis knows it.
While rumors have already surfaced that Kaepernick may have another tryout opportunity with the Seattle Seahawks for the time being he will not be a Las Vegas Raider.