No Kaepernick workout thread?

[call_me_ishmael]

I would rather have Hundley than CK.

Okay now that is just stupid.

[call_me_ishmael]

I don't follow this. He signed a 6 year $125 million contract two years before he renegotiated it for an opt out clause, which SF was happy to give him because they realized they grossly overpaid him. On CK's part, he knew he wasn't solidly their long range plan any longer.

This is a really strange thing too. Why did he negotiate the opt-out when it was commonly accepted he was overpaid and would be let go? Mistake on his part.

[pbmax]

This is a really strange thing too. Why did he negotiate the opt-out when it was commonly accepted he was overpaid and would be let go? Mistake on his part.

Parts of those future salaries were guaranteed. One of those articles I linked to puts the number at $17 million that he gave up to get the opt out. Would have been expensive to just let him go without the renegotiation. That part is known.

Less understood is whether they were being cautious with him returning from surgery (did not play until 3rd preseason game) or avoiding the risk of re-injury so that there was a chance they could escape the guarantees. That part would make anyone salty, but no one inside has made the case explicitly. Essentially they would refuse to play him despite bing healthy to force his hand. Would help explain the eagerness to leave.

[call_me_ishmael]

Man if I could get 8 figures per year to play or 8 figures per year to not play, I'd rather not play. These cats are wired differently, though.

[ThunderDan]

CA is a at will employment state. So the NFL didn’t want him working at any of their businesses. Where is the problem? You work at Walmart and start going public against the brand of cigarettes they sell and they let you go. Why would you expect to be hired at a different Walmart? Maybe this example isn’t exactly the same to you but is it really that far off due to the amount of money involved?

Sorry, the NFL is carved out from the At Will employment clauses.

I thought this was a good discussion until the personal insults started flying.

This whole thing smelled fishy to me from the get go and still smells fishy today.

[ThunderDan]

I believe that Kap is good enough to be in the NFL. I believe that most NFL teams don't want to deal with the distraction but teams have put up with a lot of shit in the past.

[George Cumby]

Regardless of his motives, he'd probably be more effective than the bottom quarter of the league's starters.

The NFL's hypocrisy, as Fritz has pointed out, is ridiculous:

Violent girlfriend/wife/child beaters = ok Spoiled athlete who has kicked a hornet's nest with a temper tantrum that was backward engineered into a social protest = not ok.

If he's capable, let him play and tell him to stay in the locker room during the anthem, if he isn't don't give him a contract.

[Bretsky]

If I have a bottom quarter of the league starter, the guy better be drama/distraction free with a great attitude. And I'm also hoping he's young with upside. I would pass on Kapernick. Every decision we make in life can have some effects. Maybe I'm a cold f'ck but he made his bed.

[Guiness]

I do not claim to know his sincerity level. I *think* he is sincere, but I cannot prove it.

Regardless, he deserves a spot in the League. A lot of people worse than hypocrites are getting paid to play professional football.

This sums up a lot of the way I feel - I tend to think he had some level of sincerity because he stuck his neck out on a big stage, to his own detriment. I guess the counter argument could be that he was an attention whore. One way or the other, a lot of people got their knickers in a knot over what he did. And the crew who likes to throw around the word 'snowflakes' acted like a bunch themselves. They also dragged the military into it, much to their surprise I'm sure.

On the talent side, I think he could play. He might not have been as elite as the Pack's defense made him look, but saying he's out of the league for skill reasons is just being purposely obtuse. Concerns about attitude I could believe...if anyone had bothered to bring him in and talk. No GM has, so they have as much idea of his sincerity as we do.

[pbmax]

If I have a bottom quarter of the league starter, the guy better be drama/distraction free with a great attitude. And I'm also hoping he's young with upside. I would pass on Kapernick. Every decision we make in life can have some effects. Maybe I'm a cold f'ck but he made his bed.

Welcome to mediocrity. Where is the NFL your net worth increases even if you are a poor business man AND you lose a lot of games.

[pbmax]

Sorry, the NFL is carved out from the At Will employment clauses.

I thought this was a good discussion until the personal insults started flying.

This whole thing smelled fishy to me from the get go and still smells fishy today.

The other problem with pointing to state laws is that they don't apply to the majority of the franchises even if they held.

[pbmax]

And stupidity proves to rule the day again.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/11/21/colin-kaepernick-case-brings-tryout-waivers-into-focus/

It also has become obvious that different teams use different waivers. Most recently, Howard Bryant of ESPN posted the waiver used by the Bears.

In attempting to obtain these waivers, another dynamic has become obvious: The players typically sign the waivers and proceed, without even informing their agents that they were asked to sign a document limiting their legal rights.

Multiple agents told PFT this week that they weren’t even aware of the practice of players signing tryout waivers. They are now, and it raises important questions regarding the language that could be snuck into the waivers — and whether an effort should be undertaken to standardize the waivers with preapproved language that all teams use.