The commissioner of the NFL has “encouraged” to teams to sign Colin Kaepernick, teams have said they would be interested in signing Colin Kaepernick, and yet, no one has reportedly tried to sign Colin Kaepernick.
That report comes from Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, who would be more than happy to report interest in Kaepernick if it existed.
But, does the present lack of activity around the league’s original anthem protester mean that he won’t be signed? It could, but there are compelling reasons for believing that it doesn’t necessarily mean that.
First, remember that these teams have already been through a draft and free agency signing period. Which means, that for most of the 32 teams in the league, they already believe they have the two quarterbacks they’re going to dress on Sunday.
Second, the league has put forth serious restrictions governing workouts. Restrictions that appear to apply to everyone except Tom Brady. Nonetheless, teams are greatly hampered in their ability to find out exactly what kind of player Kaepernick is at this point.
Third, remember that Cam Newton is still available. What sense would it make to sign the controversial and long inactive Kaepernick, over the significantly less controversial and much more recently experienced Newton?
In all likelihood, Kaepernick will be signed. Though, it’s likely he will be signed due to an injury or on-the-field failure during the season. This would give Kaepernick time to prepare, and give a team’s PR crew time to sell the move using the smokescreen of desperation during a much busier news cycle.
Of course, there’s always the chance that teams are merely saying they’re interested in Kaepernick because they don’t want to be called racist and have no intention of signing him.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn