As the NFL season wears on and several top quarterbacks begin to drop, one name remains firmly fixed atop the free-agent list — Colin Kaepernick.
When Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a possible season-ending collarbone injury, fans and media wondered if this would be the break that puts Kaepernick back on the field.
Backup Brett Hundley finished the game for Rodgers, going 18 of 33 for 157 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw three interceptions. The Packers promoted third-stringer Joe Callahan from the practice squad.
During a Monday press conference, Packers coach Mike McCarthy was asked about possibly signing the free-agent quarterback who grew up in Milwaukee, a short drive from Green Bay. From the sound of McCarthy’s response, there’ll be no homecoming party.
“Did you just listen to the question I just answered?” McCarthy snapped at a reporter who asked about Kaepernick. “I’ve got three years invested in Brett Hundley, two years invested in Joe Callahan. The quarterback room is exactly where it needs to be, OK? We’re committed to the path that we’re on.”
Um, I think this might be Mike McCarthy's way of saying the Packers are exactly zero percent interested in Colin Kaepernick. #Packers pic.twitter.com/rrchvyptCV
— John Breech (@johnbreech) October 16, 2017
Kaepernick has yet to hook up with an NFL team, since walking away from the San Francisco 49ers and about $14.5 million in guaranteed money after last season.
Many think Kaepernick’s unemployment has more to do with his activism than his arm.
One veteran sports blogger has been crunching NFL passing stats this season, comparing Kaepernick’s recent history to other quarterbacks in the league. His conclusion: Kaepernick would be better than almost half of the quarterbacks starting right now.
The path back to the NFL for Kaepernick took another turn over the weekend when his attorney, Mark Geragos, filed a grievance, claiming the NFL and its owners “have colluded to deprive Mr. Kaepernick of employment rights in retaliation for Mr. Kaepernick’s leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice and his bringing awareness to peculiar institutions still undermining racial equality in the United States.”
