Getty Images Colin Kaepernick back when he was with the San Francisco 49ers
Recently, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been linked to two teams about the possibility of signing to play football once again. Just this past week, rumors were flying around that the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders could potentially show some interest in the quarterback, according to his lawyer.
Over the past two years, Kaepernick has remained a free agent as he fights against the NFL for being ‘blackballed.’ Last season he had the opportunity to sign with the Baltimore Ravens, but their owner, Steve Bisciotti did not like the idea and blocked the move from happening. Also, the Seattle Seahawks apparently had plans to bring in Kaepernick, but they postponed the potential move after he wouldn’t guarantee to put an end to his anthem protests.
In 2018, Kaepernick is still fighting and has hope to maybe play in the NFL once again. As everybody assumes it could happen sooner than later, ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez claims that Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden doesn’t seem too fond of Kaepernick’s game on the field. Hinting that a possible signing with Raiders appears unlikely to happen for Kaepernick.
Here’s what Jon Gruden had to say back in March at the NFL’s owners meeting:
“I think there’s a lot of intrigue there. His performance on the field wasn’t very good, on tape. I think, Robert Griffin, a rookie of the year, surprised he’s out there. Tim Tebow, takes a team to the playoffs, there’s some surprise that he never came back. You know, Johnny Manziel, he’s out there. Back to Kaepernick, you know he got beat out by (Blaine) Gabbert, to start the (2016) season. I think that says something. (But) I am surprised he’s not in camp with somebody. He probably will be soon.”
As Gruden seems a bit unconvinced that his current quarterback Derek Carr is the answer to the future, it wasn’t surprising that the Raiders head coach his eyes on some intriguing big name backups. Unfortunately for Kaepernick though, it seems like the Raiders would look elsewhere first.