When the Ravens briefly entertained the idea of bringing in Colin Kaepernick in 2017, the collective outrage from concerned citizens and fans—alongside folks who just enjoy dumping dry leaves onto a roaring fire—was so significant that the team ended up releasing statements from both its general manager and team president. The Ravens admitted fan sentiment was a factor in their decision making, and looked so wholly run-over and exhausted by the process that any other team considering the former 49ers quarterback was scared into the hills.
Never, in NFL history, had thinking about adding a backup quarterback caused a facility to nearly topple. And so, as the Raiders complete a workout with Kaepernick in Nevada on Wednesday, it stands to reason that the most interesting part of all this is not necessarily what the Raiders decide, but what everyone else does next.
Even if owner Mark Davis doesn’t want Kaepernick on the roster, allowing a legitimate workout to take place serves as a trial balloon for the rest of the NFL. If the Raiders are snowed under by letter-writing campaigns, picketed by Kaepernick haters and bullied by politicians with social media access, we’ll likely see the rest of the NFL scatter just like all 32 teams did a few years ago. It is the result of some strange optical calculus, where owners are willing to give second chances to all sorts of talented players who’ve compiled heinous moments in their past, criminal or otherwise, but change their tune the second an issue veers into the hyperpolarized politics of our time.
