Posted on July 29, 2017, by Travis Pulver
When the news broke that Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was going to be out for a little while with a back injury, the pro-Colin Kaepernick crowd rejoiced. Finally, a team in need of a quarterback. Surely that means the Ravens will sign their guy— right? As it turns out, no. They went with some kid from an Arena team, David Olson. But at the moment, they are only interested in a ‘camp arm.’
They just need someone else to get reps so the other guys don’t get overworked. Maybe Kaepernick would not have cared and would be glad just to have a job again. But maybe he would have said no because then he would have closed himself off from fielding a legitimate offer.
Via @BuffaloNFLBills
With Flacco expected to only miss training camp time, they don’t need more than a ‘camp arm’ at this time. However, with how Ryan Mallett looked in practice Friday, the team may want to consider bringing Kaepernick in to be Flacco’s No. 2 for the season.
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Mallett, who doesn’t exactly have a good track record as a starter, threw five interceptions on his first day stepping in for Flacco and nearly threw two more. At one point, he got frustrated and threw his towel in the air. Linebacker Terrell Suggs had a little fun at his expense.
“Hey Marty, tell Mallett to throw to the guys wearing the purple jerseys [the offense],” Suggs shouted.
But the fun didn’t end there. On another play, Mallett was supposed to fake a handoff to Mike Wallace (who was running a reverse) and hand it off to running back Terrance West. Instead, the three collided in the backfield.
Should Flacco’s back injury flare up during the season or if something else should happen to him, the future doesn’t look good in Mallett’s hands. On the chance that a worst-case scenario develops and Flacco does miss time during the regular season, Kaepernick could be a better option.
According to Harbaugh, the team hasn’t given up on possibly signing Kaepernick. However, while the front office will look to do whatever it needs to help the team win, the uproar from fans (they don’t want him) may force them to think twice about signing the former 49ers quarterback.
Via @NESN
If they had seen Mallett during practice, they may think differently.
The only thing that will likely change the minds of any team’s fan base will be seeing Kaepernick in action. If he plays and helps a team win games, fans will start to forget why they hate him. They’ll begin to appreciate what they liked about him before he took his infamous knee.
However, if he doesn’t play, the hate and anger many fans have will only fester and grow. They will have no reason to get over their anger—and will not.
For that reason, the team will not sign him until they have a reason to believe Flacco will miss regular season games. Having a guy with Kaepernick’s potential on the roster as insurance sounds great for a team with playoff aspirations. But is it worth the PR headache his presence will create?
No.