Many were left scratching their heads when the Baltimore Ravens signed a former Arena Football League quarterback-turned-realtor Friday over a QB with a Super Bowl start on his résumé, but some fans apparently are happy about that.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reportedly was in communication with Colin Kaepernick after starter Joe Flacco suffered a back injury, but the team went with David Olson, a former backup at Clemson with no NFL experience, for now. Since the Kaepernick connection was reported, however, “many” fans have contacted the Ravens to tell the team they don’t want him, according to NFL Media’s Mike Silver.
Kaepernick has dealt with the ire of fans since protesting the national anthem last season, and many believe his protests have made teams shy away from signing him, despite the fact that the 29-year-old has the credentials to be a more than capable backup, if not a starter. But if that’s the reason the Ravens passed over Kaepernick, they’re not really looking out for the best interest of the team.
Of course, we don’t know how many fans “numerous” refers to, but even if the Ravens’ brass woke up with 10,000 emails in their inbox, that’s still a minuscule number compared to their entire fan base. Some teams haven’t flinched when it comes to signing players who’ve committed violent crimes, so it would be silly not to sign someone because some of your fans don’t agree with his political and social opinions.
There’s also the fact that they’re not at much risk of losing fans or money by signing anyone. People have threatened to boycott the NFL or specific teams for much worse, and neither have really felt the effects. It’s highly unlikely that every person saying they’d stop watching games if Kaepernick were on the team actually would stop.
At the end of the day, though, that’s likely not why the Ravens didn’t sign Kaepernick this time around. Flacco still believes he’ll only miss a week, so Baltimore probably opted for a guy they could give a minimum contract to for now. If Flacco’s recovery is drawn out, though, the Ravens will have a decision to make, and some fans might have to just deal with something they don’t want.
Thumbnail photo via Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports Images
