The Baltimore Ravens need to stop playing games. Various members of the Ravens organization have spent time talking about Colin Kaepernick and the possibility of signing him. However, they need to stop talking at this point and sign the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback to a contract. Kaepernick should not still be sitting free in the free agency market at this point. However, it appears he’s been blacklisted by NFL teams and is still without a job as NFL training camps heat up.
With the Ravens without starting quarterback Joe Flacco for a handful of weeks due to injury, the need for a quality backup is even greater. Baltimore has been busy signing and releasing quarterbacks but it’s been with players not named Kaepernick. Flacco is expected to miss the first week of training camp. In his absence, it would be beneficial to have a veteran in camp like Kaepernick. Likewise, during the season Flacco and the rest of the team can learn from Kaepernick.
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In 11 starts last season Kaepernick threw for 2,241 yards and 16 touchdowns while only having four interceptions. This stat line is decent enough to be signed by a team. However, because some NFL execs agree with Kaepernick’s message by sitting during the anthem, they’ve decided to put politics above their team’s needs. There are ample teams who would improve dearly with Kaepernick as either their starter or backup at the quarterback position. Additionally, Kaepernick is No. 39 on the top-50 list when it comes to player merchandise sales as released by the NFLPA on Tuesday morning. Thus, his jersey sales would bring in money for the team, which is music to a business person’s ears.
All in all, there’s no excuse why Kaepernick shouldn’t be on an NFL team by the time preseason games take place. It would be wise for the Ravens to stop playing games and talking about the possibility of signing Kaepernick. At this point, the Ravens can only benefit from signing Kaepernick to a contract. The team’s leaders told ESPN.com “they’d welcome Kaepernick” to the team. That alone should end speculation and the pros and cons of signing Kaepernick.
There are more pros than cons to signing Kaepernick. He makes the depth at quarterback improved. In a pinch, he could be inserted into the game without a big drop in production level between Flacco and him. However, the longer the Ravens delay in signing Kaepernick means there’s less time for him to learn the playbook effectively. Kaepernick would be better suited on the team than Robert Griffin III and is way less injury prone than the former Washington Redskins player.
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Teams have been coy to sign him thus far. Yet, the longer training camp goes on injuries among players will sadly rise. This includes at the quarterback position, which would raise the demand for a veteran quarterback. It’s rare to find a veteran NFL player like Kaepernick available at this point in the season. However, he’s sitting there waiting for just one team to call and he will quickly sign the dotted line and report to his next NFL destination.
Stop playing games, Baltimore Ravens. Sign Colin Kaepernick to a much-deserved contract before some other team comes in and swoops him and his services away.