Should Colin Kaepernick be signed? Absolutely!

After all, Other NFL Players Have Been Given Second Chances After far Worse

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Patrick Demmons, Staff Writer

When people were asked in the 1970s about what America will accomplish in 50 years, many said that we will cure cancer, or end world hunger, or even have flying cars. Not even close. Instead of making all of these advancements to better the world, we are debating over the National Anthem and our President is getting in fights on Twitter.

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For the past year, NFL players have began to kneel during the National Anthem as a way to originally protest police brutality towards minorities (mainly African-Americans), but the reasons for protest has expanded to women’s rights and even Donald Trump. The man who started all of the protesting by taking a knee during the anthem in a 2016 preseason game is ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Earlier this year, Kaepernick decided to opt out of his contract with the 49ers after putting up 2,241 yards with a 16:4 touchdown to interception ratio in 12 games (NFL.com). Now, he is a free agent becoming more and more upset with the fact that NFL owners will not sign him.

He became so upset that just yesterday he filed a lawsuit against the NFL saying that owners were “punishing” him for protesting by not signing him. This brings up the question of whether or not NFL teams should give him a chance. Despite opposers saying he would be a distraction for the team, I believe he should get a chance to play because he’s not a bad quarterback and other NFL players have received second chances for much worse things than kneeling during the National Anthem.

Though his team’s records may say otherwise, his stats prove he is a solid quarterback, or at least more solid than some of the other quarterbacks in the league today (cough cough Jay Cutler, Landry Jones, and Brock Osweiler cough cough). According to NFL.com, Kaepernick has played 6 seasons and boasts 12,271 passing yards with an above average touchdown to interception ratio of 72:30. He also has picked up an additional 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.

His best season occurred in 2013 where he was at the height of his game with an elite 98.3 passer rating and lead his teams to major wins over teams like the Patriots. He led his team all the way to the Superbowl vs the Baltimore Ravens despite the fact he started the season on the bench. Not only that, but he almost managed to dig his team out of a 28-6 deficit, but just fell short.

There are also a large amount of teams in the NFL like the Browns, 49ers, and Packers that could now really use a quarterback (the perfect places for Kaepernick). Overall, Kaepernick is one of the most underrated quarterbacks to ever play the game due to his ability to make plays outside of the pocket and make big plays.

Why shouldn’t he be given a chance to play quarterback with stats like those when players like Jay Cutler get a chance to play?

Secondly, players like Mike Vick and Ben Roethlisberger have been giving second chances, so why not give Kaepernick a second chance? In 2007, Falcons’ star quarterback Michael Vick was found guilty of Federal charges for dog fighting. As a result, he spent 21 months in a Federal prison. In 2009, after serving his sentence, Vick was immediately given a second chance and signed by the Eagles where he lasted another few years.

Though never arrested, “Big Ben” Roethlisberger was suspended four games after being accused of sexual assault by two women. That same year he was given a second chance to play and led his team to the Superbowl. So, NFL owners would rather have a man who served 21 months in prison for dogfighting and a man accused of sexual assault than a man who protested racial inequality. That makes a lot of sense.

Opposers may say that the reason Kaepernick hasn’t been given a chance is because of he would be a distraction that teams don’t want. That may be true, but there have been multiple reports of him saying he would stand for the anthem, thus making him not a distraction. Also, does it really matter if he is a distraction if he is good.

Just look at New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. He has been involved in multiple controversies like throwing temper tantrums on the sidelines (including one where he lost a fight with a kicking net) and even getting in a fight with former Carolina Panthers star cornerback Josh Norman in which Beckham hurt his team and was a distraction due to the large amount of penalties he committed, but yet he could make up for that with his skill. I believe Kaepernick could make up for him being a potential distraction with his skill the same way Beckham does.

Overall, Colin Kaepernick should be signed by a team for various reasons. He is a good quarterback, other players have gotten second chances after much worse mess ups, and he can make up for his potential distraction causing actions with his play. So the question remains, why hasn’t he been signed yet?