Kevin Winter/Getty Images for ACM
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels said the team is still owned by quarterback Derek Carr after Colin Kaepernick coached.
“Derek is pretty comfortable where he is,” McDaniels told reporters Thursday. “…He knows it’s his football team and he works that way on the field. I couldn’t ask for more from Derek Carr.”
While McDaniels didn’t specifically mention Kaepernick because he said he won’t talk about anyone who isn’t on the NFL Network team Ian Rapport reported the former San Francisco 49ers caller “impressed”.
Not surprisingly, the Raiders don’t seem to see Kaepernick as a threat to Carr’s job. After all, the reigning starter is a three-time Pro Bowler who has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in four straight years.
He threw for a career-best 4,804 yards while leading Las Vegas to the playoffs last season.
For comparison, Kaepernick is 34 years old and hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016. While he’s been effective this year, throwing for 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions in 12 games for the 49ers, that’s far from the game.
In his prime, Kaepernick could punch through opposing defenses with his arms and legs. He led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season and the NFC Championship Game in the 2013 season, but has not signed with a team since his contract was terminated in 2017.
He notably protested police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem, and along with former teammate Eric Reid agreed to a confidential settlement with the NFL in February 2019 after claiming collusion was in place to prevent them from doing so to sign with the teams after the protests.
In March, ESPN Adam Scherter reported that Kaepernick “is still working out and, according to a source, is said to be ‘in the best shape of his life.'”
The Nevada product encouraged this sentiment:
From the Raiders’ perspective, they no longer have any proven support after Marcus Mariota left for the Atlanta Falcons. Jarrett Stidham has never started an NFL game and has two touchdown passes and four interceptions on 48 total throws from his time with the New England Patriots.
Kaepernick has a much better résumé and could fill in if Carr is out.
