Colin Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers but has not found a team to take a chance on him. Despite teams needing a quarterback badly, they all seem to be passing on Kaepernick. The Cleveland Browns are one of the teams that need a quarterback but Pro Bowl offensive tackle Joe Thomas says that Colin is too much of a distraction to take a chance on.
Joe Thomas' opinion of Colin Kaepernick
Joe Thomas said bluntly that no NFL teams look at Colin Kaepernick as a starting quarterback in 2017, which probably includes his own Cleveland Browns.
The Browns let Robert Griffin III go in the offseason and traded for Brock Osweiler, who they might release as well. That means that the Browns will either keep Osweiler and start him one season after he failed to succeed in Houston, or they will start Cody Kessler. There is also a good chance that the Browns will draft a quarterback this year, which they see as a better opportunity than signing Kaepernick. According to Joe Thomas, when you sign a backup quarterback, it is important to sign one that offers "zero distractions" and that is impossible after what Colin Kaepernick went through in 2016.
The distractions of Colin Kaepernick
What Joe Thomas is talking about is the fact that people are still talking about Colin Kaepernick and his silent protest of kneeling during the National Anthem.
Names like Spike Lee have spoken up and tried to convince the New York Jets to sign him. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has claimed that he feels that NFL teams have blackballed Colin as the only explanation on why he has not yet signed on with another team. Even his old head coach Jim Harbaugh has come out in support of Kaepernick, saying that Colin is a championship-caliber quarterback.
However, NFL teams like the Jets are choosing Josh McCown over him. Teams that like Cleveland Browns are possibly going with Brock Osweiler over him. While Joe Thomas believes that Kaepernick is just a backup right now, he is just as good or better than those players and until someone signs him the questions - and distractions - will continue.
