Colin Kaepernick remains an NFL free agent. At this point, with teams having steered clear of Kaepernick for the entire 2017-18 season, it would be a shock if a team were to scoop him up.
This is despite the fact that the 30-year-old, who played from 2011-16 with the San Francisco 49ers, would be highly qualified among the league's backup quarterbacks. Though Kaepernick never reached the illustrious potential he flashed as a second-year QB in 2012, he put up good stats through his NFL tenure, and he remained a viable signal-caller in his final year with San Francisco.
Teams have flirted with the idea of signing him, but have reportedly steered clear because of his outspoken political beliefs. Kaepernick started the trend of kneeling during the national anthem in August 2016, and he has since become a well-known political figure.
The Baltimore Ravens are one of the teams that considered signing Kaepernick. According to a new report from TMZ, the Ravens, and their head coach John Harbaugh, consulted a "high-ranking U.S. military official" while the team was making its decision. The report states that the official didn't overtly tell the Ravens not to sign Kaepernick, but he did caution them "to seriously consider if Colin's national anthem demonstration fell in line with the team's core values."
TMZ adds that the official "advised the team to give Colin a set of specific guidelines he needed to follow if he wanted to keep his job."
Baltimore ultimately elected to go with Thad Lewis, who has not taken an NFL snap since 2013. In Kaep's final season with the 49ers, he threw for 2,241 yards and 16 touchdowns, while tossing only four interceptions.
