No Kaep is not going to the Saints or Steelers

Damn there's dumber fucks about pro sports on Twitter than about politics. Of course, in this case, politics lurks in the background.

Getcha popcorn! We'll explore how Kaep has become a tool for multiple sides, far removed from reality.

Number of folks are suggesting Colin Kaepernick should be signed by either the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will be missing Ben Roethlisberger for a full year (or more) instead of relying on untested Mason Rudolph.

Maybe.

There's a reason Rudolph was a third-round draft choice. (And traded twice.) I don't care how much Red Satan fellates him.

That said, Kaep is not in game shape. Minimum of two weeks on the purely physical side, no matter how much he's been working out, and more than that on game mindset and learning the offense side.

Which is why, the suggestion that the Saints should sign him to replace Drew Brees for a 6-8 week vacancy is simply stupid.

Teddy Bridgewater is a decent QB who is in both game and game mindset shape right now.

I mean, the Colts had time before the season started, when Andrew Luck announced his retirement, to sign Kaep. They went with backup Jacoby Brissett.

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. Big Ben
4. Russell Wilson
5. Patrick Mahomes
6. Brees
7. 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. If he really wants back. What if Kaep wants a $20M guaranteed signing bonus PLUS 3/$25 or something like that on actual salary?

Ain't happening.

Were I an actual GM, and I run one of the teams that does not have a QB mentioned above, or one of the unmentioned rookie first-rounders from last year besides Mayfield? Kaep would get $2 million non-guaranteed and a $500K signing bonus. I would include one or two option years — player options — to give him some additional assurance of job security.

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 Joe Flacco but behind DangeRuss. About midway between the two, in fact.

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.

In other words?

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.

And, no, that's not outrageous as a guess. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, who knows a little about the pro world, says "millions ... plus royalties." LeBron's lifetime deal with Nike is reportedly a cool $1 billion. Odell Beckham Jr. is raking $5M a year from Nike.

And Kaep's "Dream Crazy" ad from a year ago just won an Emmy. That will goose the royalties, and it already did; sales surged in the days after the ad.

Nike's stock surged this summer; surged $3 billion after Kaep called out its Betsy Ross shoe.