For Seahawks and Kaepernick, It Came Down To Money
There is one reason and one reason only that Colin Kaepernick isn’t at the Seahawks training camp. Dollars.
To be completely truthful, I should say there are millions of reasons Kap isn’t in college navy, action green and wolf gray. By the way – college navy, seriously? Action green and wolf gray – awesome names. But college navy? Great color, just a blah name. Okay, back to dollars and Kap and the cap.
Seahawks and Keapernick were too far apart on money
At least that’s the word from one reporter. ESPN’s Mike Garafalo tweeted this earlier today regarding the Seahawks and Kaepernick:
They're apart on money. The Seahawks are the only ones who brought him in and are now talking him up. I can't muster much ire toward them. https://t.co/kNE28TCud2
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 2, 2017
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That makes complete sense. Unlike most backups in the NFL, Kaepernick has been a starter for almost his entire career, and a successful one at that. In 2013 his QBR was 8th in the league. For 2014 it was 12th. In 2015 and 2016 his QBR plummeted, to 29th and 23rd, respectively. Of course, the talent on the 49ers took a nosedive those years as well. Hmmmm…what happened in 2015? Oh yeah, the 49ers replaced Jim Harbaugh with – ahem – Jim Tomsula. Harbaugh was 44-19-1. The Niners have been on the trash heap since with seven wins in two years. Not that anyone here is complaining.
Back to Kap. Yes, his QBR is awful for the last two years. Even then, last year it was still better than guys like Cam Newton and Ryan Tannehill and Eli Manning. They have jobs. Starting jobs. Of course they should be playing. They’re established players. But did I mention Blake Bortles is starting? And Mike Glennon?
Was it money or off-field issues?
On that team, yes. On teams with cap space and no unquestioned starter, there's no doubt the other stuff has factored in.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 2, 2017
As Garafolo said, it was all about the money. The Seahawks don’t have the cap space to pay big bucks for a backup quarterback. As I wrote just a week ago, “Kaepernick has proven much more than guys like Ryan Mallett and Brandon Weeden, and they’re both making $2 million a year. The question isn’t if Kap is content backing up Wilson. Will he be content being paid like a backup?”
Just look at these contracts
Yes, I just quoted myself. I suppose that officially makes me an awful human being. Just trying to save you a click. Back to that pay issue. I highly recommend the wonderful site spotrac.com for some brain-melting info on quarterback contracts. Mike Glennon is getting paid $15 million per year. Let that sink in. Mike. Glennon. Sure, he’ll be be cut in 20118 when Mitch Trubisky takes over, but he still got the contract. Brian Hoyer and Josh McCown are both getting $6 million this year. Matt Schaub, $4.5 million; Chad Henne, and Dew Stanton over $3 million. Is it any wonder Kaepernick thinks he’s worth more?
I don’t begrudge Kap for asking for more. He’s clearly worth more than any of the above schleps. The Seahawks clearly don’t need to pay that much either, not for a backup. Just because some teams are insane doesn’t mean they should be. Don’t blame either side here. Blame the teams paying those ridiculous contracts.
So the Seahawks are back to Trevone Boykin and Jake Heaps, and keeping the door open to opportunities. After all, some teams think guys like Cody Kessler and Josh McCown are actually starters, and Kap may still be looking for a gig.