When the Ravens briefly amused themselves with the idea of attracting Colin Kapernik in 2017, the collective outrage from concerned citizens and fans – along with people who just love throwing dry leaves over a roaring fire – was so significant that the team in eventually released statements from both his general manager and team president. Ravens admitted that the mood of the fans was a factor in their decisions and seemed so completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the process that any other team, referring to the former 49ers quarterback, was scared in the hills.
It has never been in the history of the NFL thinking regarding the addition of a spare quarterback led to the near demolition of the facility. So while the Raiders finish training with Kaepernick in Nevada on Wednesday, it makes sense that the most interesting part of it all is not necessarily what the Raiders decide, but what everyone else does afterwards.
Even if owner Mark Davis doesn’t want Kaepernick on the list, allowing legitimate training serves as a test balloon for the rest of the NFL. If the attackers are overwhelmed by letter-writing campaigns picked by Kaepernick haters and harassed by politicians with access to social media, we will probably see the rest of the NFL disperse just as all 32 teams did a few years ago. This is the result of some strange optical calculation, in which the owners are ready to give a second chance to any talented players who have collected disgusting moments in their past, criminal or otherwise, but change their melody the second the problem deviates in hyperpolarized politics of our time.
If enough people collectively shrug their shoulders, realizing that we may have come far enough as a society to understand Copernicus’ intentions (or simply that we all have no clue to do so and move on to the next topic of debate), we may actually be able to the opportunity to see what we have missed all this time. Or, if we missed a lot at all.
Turning to his abilities on the field: Kaepernick is at least better than most backups in the NFL and, I think it’s safe to take a chance, a handful of new players who are currently holding back. At least that’s a controversial idea. This is a theory that most NFL teams would have tested so far if it were not nearly impossible (from their point of view) for Kapernik to participate for a legitimate experience.
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Now that the defensive seal has been broken – not just at his Michigan throw demonstration, but at a legitimate, formalized training session watched by an active NFL head coach – we may be able to see who was really interested all along. We may have a chance to discuss a player as a player who may or may not add value to a team. Capernick himself said that was what he wanted, realizing that he would probably have to return from the bottom of the depth chart.
There’s a version of this story that ends with a little quiet weekend on Memorial Day, following news that Las Vegas is considering adding Kaepernick to the list. There is a version of this story in which a handful of teams that need the help of a quarterback much more than Las Vegas pick up the phone and call Copernicus’ agent, asking for a few hours of Colin’s time on an empty football field somewhere. There is a version of this story that ends with Kapernik in uniform, at a training camp, where we can all see him make a live republic against the talent we argued was better or worse. There is a version of this story that ends with a somewhat satisfactory answer in one way or another (although it can be argued that Kapernik was robbed of the best five years of his career and that this is not the fairest presentation of this which we would have seen on a football field in 2017).
There is also a version of this story that we are more familiar with. All of us, tense, glued to our phones and keyboards, turning a moment that is really about one thing into a completely different matter.
We have to decide. For some reason, this is the only time NFL owners are interested in what people think of a transaction. For some reason, public reaction may very well dictate the near future of the NFL, and perhaps in some small, miniature way, how some people try to understand those who live life differently.
What will everyone choose?
More NFL coverage:
• Behind the show of Colin Kapernik’s return tour
• From June 2020: What do you think of Colin Kapernik now?
• Brown will never survive the Deshon Watson deal
• Do the Browns trust Deshon Watson?