Well, of course it wasn't if he said "we've moved past kneeling," which got Kaep's co-plaintiff Eric Reid in his lawsuit against the NFL totally jacked up last week.
That said, Trump has said Kaepernick should play in the NFL, but on the condition of "only if he's good enough." (Hold on to that thought.)
And Reid said this:
"Colin can help every NFL team, first and foremost," Reid said. "We did not play our best football tonight. So I'm not going to throw our guys under the bus and say they should lose their jobs. We all played terrible today. But Colin can help out every NFL team."
How much can he help versus how much he thinks he can help, and how much he thinks he should be paid to help?
First, would he come back? Why?
Kaep has two years of not taking shots from defensive ends and linebackers. He might enjoy staying pain-free.
Or, he might say that, rather than being rusty, he's fresh. With the league doubling down again on mobile QBs like Lamar Jackson, he should be hired.
So, how would you rank him against current QBs?
My take, based on a mix of:
1. Overall QB physical skills
2. Overall QB athleticism
3. Overall QB decision making and leadership
AND ... based on where Kaep was at when he was last active —
I rank clearly ahead of him
1. Tom Brady
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Ben Roethlisberger
4. Russell Wilson
5. Patrick Mahomes
6. Drew Brees
7. Andrew Luck
8. Cam Newton
Four of those eight are fairly long in the tooth, of course. A couple are very long.
In the "at least even," even with just a few years or even one, I'll put:
1. Baker Mayfield
2. Deshaun Watson
3. Dak Prescott
4. Jared Goff
Right now, at least, Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr need not apply as being "at least even." That's mainly due to injuries. None of Mayfield's rookie peers guarantee ahead of Kaep.
So, if you're looking more than one year out, NFL teams? Scratching Brady and Brees for sure, only about one-third of the league's QBs are guaranteed as good or better, in my book.
In addition, he was this spring not too washed up for Arena Football 2.0 to be interested.
BUT.
And a big fat BUT.
Is he overpricing himself?
If Kaep really wanted $20 million from the Alliance of American Football for arena games, he won't come cheap for the NFL. Reid's new contract is 3 years, $22M. What if Kaep wants a $20M guaranteed signing bonus PLUS 3/$22 or something like that on actual salary?
Ain't happening.
Look at Kaep's actual sabermetrics, per the list of QBs above and other things. Only once, in a full season, did he pop a Quarterback Rating of above 100. For comparison, Mahomes was at 113.8. Wilson, in their almost totally overlapping history through 2016, regularly rated higher. And didn't have injury problems. Remember, Kaep had a history of taking unnecessary hits when he ran the ball.
So, that's part 1.
Kaepernick has been, beyond his Black Lives Matter activism, a nice sledgehammer to beat over the head of Roger Goodell, more curmudgeonly members of the NFL ownership club and MAGA hat wearing fans. But, is he "all that" as a QB? Well, maybe he never was. Better than Flacco but behind DangeRuss. About midway between the two, in fact.
At the same time? The Redscum, also, per their owner, and the issue about the mascot possibly being racist, who could also be called the Snyder Hymies, signed Mark Sanchez to replace Alex Smith after his broken leg. Then signed Josh Johnson to replace him. Kaep is better than either and would also buff up Dan Snyder's rep.
But, even then, he ain't getting $20 million, or close. He can compromise, like Andre Dawson with the Cubs long ago. Or not.
So, while Kaep's legal mouthpiece Mark Geragos claimed this spring that Kaep likely would be signed within two weeks of the settlement? , As I said on Twitter at the time:
I will eat my fucking hat and that of Mark Geragos too if #Kaep is signed by an NFL team in the next two weeks. https://t.co/0bx0fETxTU— Fmr ATrealDonaldTrump 🚩🌻 (@AFCC_Esq) February 17, 2019
Of course, Geragos had plenty of other troubles to worry about shortly after that.
As of March 25, he was reportedly an unindicted co-conspirator in the alleged scheme by Michael Avenatti to shake down Nike. Given that Geragos' other clients past and present include(d) Jussie Smollett, Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder, Gary Condit and Scott Peterson, the idea that he would be PR-heavy and truth-light on Kaep's future with the NFL should be totally unsurprising.
I.e., he probably lies and bullshits as much as Avenatti.
I clearly won't be eating either his hat or mine.
As of March 25, he was reportedly an unindicted co-conspirator in the alleged scheme by Michael Avenatti to shake down Nike. Given that Geragos' other clients past and present include(d) Jussie Smollett, Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder, Gary Condit and Scott Peterson, the idea that he would be PR-heavy and truth-light on Kaep's future with the NFL should be totally unsurprising.
I.e., he probably lies and bullshits as much as Avenatti.
I clearly won't be eating either his hat or mine.
Let's also not forget that Kaep agreed to a contract restructuring and bet on himself as a player, outside of #TakeAKnee. That gives a heads-up to The Undefeated's Bomani Jones, talking about Kaep's sacrifices.
Per old friend Idries Shah ... "there are more than two sides."
That's clear here. We don't know what financial discussions were held when Kaep worked out with teams in the past two years and many other things. And, in the spirit if not the letter of the NDA, we may never know.
As for overpricing himself? It gives Kaep a convenient out. Let's say he's making $5 a year on a five-year deal as a Nike "brand ambassador" or whatever. (And, no, based on stories like this, that's not a ridiculous guess.) Why would he give that up, even if Nike "held" the contract for him, in exchange for getting beat up, unless he got a lot of guaranteed money? And, he knows he's not going to get that. Contra Eric Reid.
The last couple of years have made clear that Kaep still isn't a bad capitalist outside the NFL.
NFL owners remain better inside the NFL There's probably no more than half a dozen teams he could legitimately help, that have a need for a permanent upgrade at starting QB, that are willing to give him a chance, and are willing to give him even $5M guaranteed signing money.
The number that would give him $20M?
ZERO.
And, I think Kaep knows this, He surely knew that no arena team was giving him 20 million guaranteed. It's good posturing if nothing else. Make a semi-outlandish demand and watch nobody give you an offer. I mean, Nike's $5M a year without NFL-sized medical bills is not shabby.
Or, if we compare it to his earnings before his contract restructure, it's $5M (my guess) vs $7M.
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