Protests across the country for racial justice and police reform have prompted sports figures to once again speak of taking a knee during the national anthem in support of the protests. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaeperninck’s name often resurfaces along with these types of protests, with many players asking to be signed by an NFL team.
Kaepernick hasn’t started an NFL game or appeared on any roster since the 2016 season. It was during the 2016 preseason that Kaepernick began taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality.
>
“I’m not going to stand up to show pride in the flag of a country that oppresses Black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said at a postgame news conference in 2016. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish of me to look the other way. There are dead bodies in the street and people who get paid leave and get away with it.”
There were teams interested in signing Kaepernick (Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens in particular), but no team signed him for one reason or another. The Seahawks felt Kaepernick was the starter, but they already had Russell Wilson. The Ravens were worried about a PR nightmare and a box office blitz, so they backed off.
kaepernick is now the talk of football fans who think he deserves to be back on an nfl team.
However, after a topsy-turvy offseason on the quarterback carousel, teams would have to look a long way before signing him. Notably, Cam Newton remains a free agent after being released from the Carolina Panthers.
Before we look at a kaepernick-cam comparison, here are some of the offseason quarterback moves in the nfl:
- tom brady went from new england to tampa bay
- teddy bridgewater went from new orleans to carolina
- philip rivers went from the chargers to indianapolis
- the chargers drafted justin herbert in the first round
- the green bay packers drafted jordan love in the first round to back up aaron rodgers
- cincinnati bengals selected joe burrow first overall
- the miami dolphins recruited tua tagovailoa
- nick foles went from jacksonville to chicago
- marcus mariota went from tennessee to las vegas
- jameis winston went from starter in tampa bay to backup in new orleans
That being said, here are the comparisons between kaepernick and cam newton.
age kaepernick: 32 cam newton: 31
year/round selected kaepernick: 49ers (2011, round 2, 36th overall) cam newton: panthers (2011, 1st overall)
College Highlight Kaepernick: Only NCAA QB to pass for 10,000 yards and rush for 4,000 yards in one career (and remains the only one). Led Nevada to a 34-31 victory over Boise State in 2010, ending the Broncos’ 24-game winning streak.
cam newton: won the 2010 heisman trophy and every major quarterback and player of the year award with auburn while leading the tigers to a 14-0 record and the national championship. In 2009, Newton guided Blinn College to the NJCAA National Championship.
super bowl appearances kaepernick: (2012, lost to baltimore) cam newton: (2015, lost to new england)
nfl major awards kaepernick: none cam newton: 2015 nfl mvp
Regular Season Career Record kaepernick: 28-30 (48% winning percentage) cam newton: 68-55-1 (55%)
playoff career record kaepernick: 4-2 (66%) cam newton: 3-4 (43%)
running passing yards kaepernick: 12,271 cam newton: 29,041
career passing touchdowns kaepernick: 72 cam newton: 182
race completion percentage kaepernick: 59.8 cam newton: 59.6
seasons with 3000+ passing yards kaepernick: 2 in 6 seasons cam newton: 8 in 9 seasons
rushing yards/rushing touchdowns kaepernick: 2,300 yards/13 tds cam newton: 4,806 yards/58 tds
game winning drives kaepernick: 7 cam newton: 17