Broncos passing on Colin Kaepernick looks even more ridiculous after Chad Kelly's arrest
There were plenty of excuses thrown around for why NFL teams weren’t signing Colin Kaepernick, but the three most prevalent reasons were…
- Kaepernick would create a distraction in the locker room.
- The team would have to tailor the offense to Kaepernick’s strengths because he’s not a pocket passer.
- Kaepernick did not make it clear that he was committed to the game.
If any of those were remotely accurate — none of them are — it would make some sense that Kaepernick remains unemployed. But it’s not like we haven’t seen teams take a chance on quarterbacks carrying those very concerns. One of those teams being the Denver Broncos, whose GM John Elway was deposed in the Kaepernick’s collusion case against the league.
The Broncos, of course, have been looking for a quarterback since Peyton Manning retired. Elway tried to trade for Kaepernick before the 2016 season but the QB refused to take a significant pay cut. Elway said earlier this year that Kaepernick’s decision to turn down the deal meant the Broncos were no longer interested in signing him — even as they’ve continued searching for stability at the position.
Meanwhile Denver hasn’t exactly shied away from QBs who have one or more of the flaws supposedly keeping Kaepernick unsigned. The team had no problem giving Chad Kelly, currently the team’s backup, a chance after he was arrested following a fight at a nightclub, during which Kelly allegedly threatened to “spray this place” with an AK-47. That happened after he was dismissed from Clemson for “conduct detrimental to the team.” And Kelly repaid the faith the Broncos put in him by getting arrested and charged with trespassing on Monday night.
Kaepernick quietly protested before football games. If he’s a “distraction,” then what word do we use for Kelly?
In addition to the red flags off-the-field, Kelly has never had the reputation for being a polished passer on it. Here’s his pre-draft scouting report from NFL.com:
“Has worked almost exclusively from shotgun and pistol. Struggles to maintain early success after halftime defensive adjustments … When pressure heads his way, he tucks and scoots rather than stands and delivers. Has random bouts of inaccuracy on wide receiver screens and outs. Throws nose-dive on move throws. Inconsistent working through progressions. Fails to see wide-open receivers, opting instead to make his job harder. Mind appears to be racing at times.”
Not exactly Peyton Manning there.
And most of those on-the-field criticisms could have been said about Paxton Lynch before Elway drafted him the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. You can also throw in concerns about his commitment to the game of football.
If the Broncos were willing to overlook all of these issues with Kelly and Lynch, why not with Kaepernick, a quarterback with a track record of NFL success?
What actually changed between the time Kaepernick made a business decision to not take a worse contract and now? His protests against police brutality and the systematic oppression of minorities in this country began.
Source: ftw.usatoday.com
Comments
Post a Comment