When the Ravens briefly overlooked the idea of bringing Colin Kapernik in 2017, the collective anger of concerned citizens and fans - along with people just enjoying throwing dry leaves on the fire - was so significant that the team eventually released statements from both its CEO and team president. The Ravens admitted that the mood of the fans was a factor in their decision-making, and they looked so completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the process that any other team considering the former 49ers quarterback was scared into the hills.
Never, in NFL history, has it thinking about adding a spare quarterback caused the building to collapse almost. And so, while the Raiders are finishing training with Kaepernick in Nevada on Wednesday, it is logical that the most interesting part of all this is not necessarily what the Raiders decide, but what everyone else is doing next.
Even if owner Mark Davis doesn’t want Copernicus on the list, enabling legitimate training serves as a test balloon for the rest of the NFL. If the Raiders are overwhelmed by letter-writing campaigns, picketed by Kaepernik haters and harassed by politicians who have access to social media, we will probably see the rest of the NFL disperse just like all 32 teams a few years ago. This is the result of some strange optical calculation, where the owners are willing to give a second chance to all kinds of talented players who have composed disgusting moments in their past, criminal or something else, but change their melody the moment the problem turns hyperpolarized. politics of our time.
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If enough people collectively shrug their shoulders, realizing that as a society we may have come far enough to understand Kaepernik’s intentions (or simply that we are without signs to make and move on to the next topic of debate), we could get a chance to see what we are all this time missed. Or, if we missed a lot at all.
Let’s turn to his abilities on the field: Kaepernick is, to say the least, better than most backups in the NFL and, I think it’s safe to say, a small number of beginners aren’t working right now. This is at least a debatable idea. This is a theory that most NFL teams would have tested so far had it not been nearly impossible (from their point of view) to get Kaepernick involved for legitimate testing.
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Now that the protective seal has cracked - not only on his display in Michigan, but also in the legitimate, formalized training observed by the active head coach of the NFL - we may get a chance to see who was interested in all that. We may have the opportunity to talk about a football player as a football player who can, but does not have to, contribute to the team’s values. Kaepernick himself said that is what he wants, realizing that he will probably have to return from the bottom of the depth chart.
There is a version of this story that ends with a somewhat quiet weekend of Remembrance Day, after the news that Las Vegas is considering adding Kaepernik to the list. There is a version of this story in which several teams that need far more help from a quarterback than Las Vegas answer the phone and call Kaepernik’s agent, looking for a few hours of Colin’s time on an empty football field. There is a version of this story that ends with Kapernik in uniform, at a training camp, where we can all see him play live against a talent we have argued is better or worse than him. There is a version of this story that in one way or another ends with a somewhat satisfactory answer (although it could be said that Kaepernik was robbed of five top years of his career and that this is not the fairest depiction of what we would see on the football field in 2017).
There is also a version of this story that is more familiar to us. All of us, tense, glued to our phones and keyboards, turn a moment that really concerns one thing into another.
We have to decide. For some reason, this is the only time NFL owners care what people think about the transaction. For some reason, the reaction of the public could dictate the near future of the NFL, and perhaps in some small, miniature way, as some people try to understand those who experience life differently.
What will everyone choose?
More about the NFL:
• Behind the spectacle of Colin Kapernik’s return tour
• From June 2020: What do you think of Colin Kapernik now?
• The Browns will never survive Deshaun Watson’s deal
• Do the Browns trust Deshon Watson?