There has been a lot of debate about the Colin Kaepernick situation. When news broke out about the protesting, it split people into two sides: if they were for him or against him. The ex-49er quarterback is still unsigned by any team in the NFL. The league will not be slowing down at any time either because the upcoming season is looking to be very competitive with many teams standing as contenders to win the Super Bowl.
It can be argued that the quarterback has not been signed because of his past protests and his decline in performance. Regardless of the facts, Kaepernick should be employed and be added to a team either as a starter or backup.
Why he should be signed
There are a lot of reasons in my mind about why Kaepernick should have a job as a QB. One is that he is athletic, and he can make a number of teams better. Despite his drop in performance, he is a double threat in escaping out of the pocket, and he has a cannon of an arm that can launch long accurate passes down the field.
His performance last year does not speak for itself either, though. Last year, he was playing for one of the worst teams in the league, and he did not have many weapons to work with at his disposal. He was simply working with what he had from the get-go.
I believe that people took his protests out of context in some ways. His protests were not meant to state that he is not grateful to America and in what he has received in return.
Although, I can see why people took it that way. Nor was he, in my opinion, trying to be against the military. It seems he was trying to stand up for the injustices of police brutality and inequality throughout the nation.
In my opinion, no one should have their job taken away for using their first amendment rights. He was in fact using freedom of speech to get his point across.
Own mistakes
However, I do believe he made some mistakes and went too far at times. For example, when he wore a Fidel Castro T-Shirt and was supporting him as a great leader. There is evidence that he was a controversial figure who made bad decisions.
The bottom line is that a lot of teams could use him even as a backup because there are many that are not good at all, and there are starting QB's who are injured.
He has some experience in the playoffs as well and led his team to the Super Bowl years ago.
Jay Cutler in, Kaepernick out
Colin Kaepernick is really paying the price for his protesting and kneeling of the national anthem. It is clear as day to see that his political opinions cost him his job in the league. There are a lot of reasons why I think the QB should be signed.
The Miami Dolphins needed a QB, and instead of getting Colin, they signed Jay Cutler. They signed a player who recently retired earlier in the year, instead of signing a more athletic, capable, and younger player.
It is also rumored that the Baltimore Ravens had strong interest in adding Colin Kaepernick to their team, but they were met with strong resistance from the owner.
Teams are simply afraid to sign the quarterback because fans will voice their displeasure and not go to games. It will cost the owners money.
Petition available
The situation has elevated over time, and now there is a petition that anyone can sign to boycott the NFL until he is signed to a team. A petition on FaceBook has over 150,000 signatures currently. Kaepernick's message of equality and standing up for minorities really resonated with people, as it should have. No country is perfect, but it is easy to see that equality is not exactly granted to all.
The ultimate goal is to get one million signatures by the start of the season in September and send it to all thirty-two NFL owners. People are using their first amendment rights to voice their displeasure with the league. If others want to change the situation and see Colin play on the field next season, they should sign the petition to try and make a difference.
