Getty Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis.
The Las Vegas Raiders are set at starting quarterback as they handed Derek Carr a massive quarterback extension earlier in the offseason. However, the backup quarterback situation leaves a bit to be desired. The teams signed Nick Mullens and Garrett Gilbert to back up Carr but neither have ample starting experience. In the event that Carr has to miss time, the Raiders can’t feel overly confident with either of those players taking snaps.
Former San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick is making another run at trying to get back on a team and even said he would accept a backup role recently. Though he hasn’t played a game since 2016, he’s started in 58 career games. Obviously, signing him would bring a large amount of attention to a franchise due to his status as an activist and a divisive personality. Many owners around the NFL likely want nothing to do with the media circus that he would bring.
Mark Davis isn’t one of those owners. The Raiders owner has offered support for a possible Kaepernick signing in the past and decided to double down with an even stronger statement.
“I believe in Colin Kaepernick,” Davis said, via Monte Poole of NBC Sports. “He deserves every chance in the world to become a quarterback in the National Football League. I still stand by it. If our coaches and general manager want to bring him in or want him to be the quarterback on this team, I would welcome him with open arms.”
“[Kaepernick] sacrificed a lot of the things that he could’ve been doing in his life to get a message across about police violence and equity and inclusion in America, and I stand by that.”
Mark Davis says he fully supports Kap rejoining of the NFL
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Davis Says Kaepernick Is ‘Misunderstood’
Kaepernick first became a controversial figure when he was seen sitting for the National Anthem during a 2016 preseason game. Sitting turned into kneeling as the quarterback wouldn’t back down. He decided to kneel during the national anthem to bring more attention to police brutality. Davis was among the people who didn’t fully understand what Kaepernick was trying to do so he reached out to him previously.
“I think Colin is a very misunderstood human being,” Davis said. “I’ve gotten a chance to talk to him. I never really knew Colin, and I didn’t understand him. I didn’t understand the kneeling, what that meant initially. Over time, I have learned a little bit more about it.
“I understand where he was coming from. He’s got a message for society as a whole.”
Davis has certainly gone further than other owners around the NFL as many of them have treated him as a pariah.
Should Raiders Sign Kaepernick?
Davis has given head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler his blessing to sign Kaepernick but it remains to be seen if they’d have any interest. There is a large amount of media attention that would come with signing him. If the Raiders feel like he could be an upgrade at backup quarterback, they should at least consider signing him. The object is to win games, at the end of the day.
That said, it’s difficult to know if Kaepernick would have a mutual interest. He’s said that the goal is to eventually be a starter again. He might be better off going to a team with a less stable starting quarterback situation. At the same time, those teams might be less interested in him due to the drama that would bring.
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Mark Davis Offers Support for Raiders to Sign Divisive QB