Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned even as suggestions continue to pour in on where he could possibly be of use. Among the latest teams he has been linked to are the Tennessee Titans though it all ended up abruptly as the others.
Kaepernick was never brought up to Titans coach Mike Mularkey. In fact, he wasn’t even aware of it. However, he did single out one important thing – familiarity. The 29-year-old never worked out with the team so an alleged signing was far from possible.
Brandon Weeden signed
Clearing that out, it also explained why the team opted to sign Brandon Weeden to fill up their need for a backup quarterback, ESPN reported.
If not Weeden, the Titans would have signed T.J. Yates, someone who had experience in Atlanta and worked with the Titans for a couple of weeks. Other players who worked out and tried to fill in the backup role were Matt Barkley and Matt McGloin.
Kaepernick is an experienced player, who is a whole lot better than Weeden or any of the guys who worked out with the Titans. He also seemed like a perfect fit with Tennessee, as they use a lot of read-option and run-pass options plays.
So the only thing that hindered him from joining was not showing up during workouts. But was he ever invited? The best people to answer that would be the Titans’ front office, who are responsible for bringing in people to workouts.
Conspiracy again?
Apparently, there was no invite given to Kaepernick. It hardly comes as a surprise with the Milwaukee native starting all of last season with his kneeling protests.
Curiously, the NFL has seen other players take a knee or lock arms. Worse, team owners like Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones have joined the social injustice protests.
Slowly, Kaepernick’s movement has been evolving into a just cause. US President Donald Trump has reacted to it, firing back through social media in obvious disgust. Could this be something the Titans were avoiding?
Whatever the reason may be, Mularkey does have sufficient grounds in going with Weeden. He was around during the workouts, meaning even Yates, Barkley or McGloin would have received the job as well.
The downside is that these players previously struggled as backups for their previous teams.
Given the short amount of time, Mularkey was pressed to make a decision. With only four players to choose from, he went for the best among the crop. Kaepernick would have been a contender – if he were around to work out with Mularkey and the Titans.
Looking ahead, Kaepernick remains one of the high-profile backup quarterbacks available. Blackballing insinuations continue and that will remain until some team risks taking in the former player who led the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII.
