League retaliation against Kaepernick may figure into NFL lawsuit

The issues behind the former quarterback's litigation may broaden as his case moves forward

Dec 11, 2018

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Another Sunday in the NFL passed with Colin Kaepernick sitting at home while less qualified quarterbacks continued to pull playing time and paychecks.

That might become an even bigger issue for the league, which is currently dealing with a lawsuit he filed against it. According to Pro Football Talk, Kaepernick is likely to argue that what began as a collusion lawsuit has become team-specific retaliation against him for filing the suit.

The common narrative by Kaepernick’s detractors is that teams won’t sign him because he is currently suing the league. That logic goes out the window when it is pointed out that his close friend Eric Reid was signed by the Carolina Panthers earlier this year and he is also currently suing the league for collusion against him.

There is ample evidence of something funny going on due to the number of subpar to terrible quarterbacks signed by teams instead of Kaepernick. The latest, and maybe most egregious, example came in Washington where after consecutive weeks where their two quarterbacks, Alex Smith and Colt McCoy, each suffered broken legs.

Head coach Jay Gruden said that the team had “discussed” bringing in the blackballed QB, but opted for veteran washout Mark Sanchez and career backup Josh Johnson instead.

“He’s been discussed but I think we will probably go in a different direction,” Gruden said, adding tthat the coaching staff wasn’t sure it it could bring in a quarterback that “didn’t know the system.”

“When you’re talking about a backup quarterback this late in the game you want someone with a similar skill set to the quarterback you have,” Gruden said. “Not that Colin can’t do some of the things we’ve talked about. We want someone with a little more familiarity.”

In actuality, Smith and Kaepernick were teammates in San Francisco and Kaepernick led the 49ers to the Super Bowl playing under the same system. Yahoo Sports reports that the team did not contact Kaepernick, who has maintained that he would accept any opportunity to return to the league.

Meanwhile Sanchez, who had not started a game in three years, had a horrible game on Sunday against the New York Giants. Sanchez finished with just 38 yards on 6-of-14 passing, no touchdowns, and two interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Down 40-0 late in the 3rd quarter, Washington turned to Johnson. It had been a while since he had seen the field:

Josh Johnson went 6 years and 363 days between NFL passes.

According to @EliasSports, that’s the longest drought between passes since Doug Flutie went 8 years and 277 days between passes (Dec. 1989 to Sept. 1998).

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 9, 2018

Johnson had not played in the league since 2011 and had been out of the league entirely since 2013. He had recently been playing for the minor league San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football.

The snub of Kaepernick also came a week after the team hurriedly claimed Reuben Foster off of waivers days after another domestic violence arrest.

It does lead people to wonder what the real story behind the stonewall is.