Colin Kaepernick Petitions New York Jets To Let Him Join Their Practice Squad

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The NFL story that might never, ever go away: Colin Kaepernick. Once Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury, the usual suspects immediately called upon the New York Jets to call Kaepernick.

There was never any chance of that happening. Kaepernick knows that. He hasn't taken an NFL snap in nearly seven years.

I stand by that post. Kaepernick wants people to know that he's trying to join the Jets so that he has more ammunition for his victim claims when they turn him down.

There was a point that teams didn't want Kaepernick because he was just more trouble than he was worth. Could he have been a serviceable NFL backup quarterback in 2017? Absolutely. Might even start for a handful of teams.

But was he going to play well enough to outweigh all the media attention and circus that he brought with him? Absolutely not. Teams, like all businesses, did a cost-benefit analysis. The cost outweighed the benefit. Ergo, no job for Colin Kaepernick.

Colin Kaepernick, who last played in the NFL in 2016-17 for the San Francisco 49ers, wants to join the New York Jets practice squad.

Colin Kaepernick, who last played in the NFL in 2016-17 for the San Francisco 49ers, wants to join the New York Jets practice squad. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Now, at near 36 years old with no NFL experience since the 2016-17 season, he provides almost no football value and a TON of distraction.

That's what makes Tuesday's news really interesting.

Colin Kaepernick sends letter to New York Jets GM Joe Douglas asking to join team's practice squad

According to the date on the letter, Kaepernick (more likely his representation) sent the letter on Sept. 21. Presumably, since we're just now seeing this through social media, the Jets did not pursue Kaepernick's offer.

In the interest of fairness, I'm going to look at this from both angles. I don't particularly care for Colin Kaepernick and I do not agree with his comments on America or his choice to kneel during the National Anthem.

Freedom of choice does not mean freedom from consequence. He made a choice and then NFL teams made a choice, too. He also had a choice to take his lawsuit against the league to court and force them to air their dirty laundry.

Instead, he took a massive settlement offer. Thus, he's a hypocrite. He claims to be all about the "cause" but when the choice came between that or money, he took the money. That's fine, most people would. But you don't get to also lecture us about your moral superiority.

That being said, this is a very smart PR move on his part. Also, using the Harbaugh brothers and Chip Kelly as his "professional references" is a nice touch. Having a "professional rapper" post it on Instagram makes it even funnier.

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Rapper J. Cole (left) released a copy of a letter that Colin Kaepernick (right) wrote to the New York Jets. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for Netflix)

People are going to say, "what's the harm in allowing him to join the practice squad?" The counterargument that knowledgeable football people make is that he's not good enough at football to be on an NFL team, especially given the baggage. But the practice squad?

It's a guarantee that his media backers are going to eat this up. They're going to say, "look, he's willing to literally not even actually be on the team. The only reason to say no to that is because he is actually blackballed."

That's probably true. In fact, the NFL admitted as much by cutting him that huge settlement check in the first place.

Kaepernick joining Jets practice squad doesn't actually make sense for the team

Here's the rub: all of the baggage still comes to the practice squad. That's why the New York Jets are not going to pursue this option.

Kaepernick backers are going to say that he is a great fit for the practice squad. He makes some good points about helping the team prepare for mobile quarterbacks.

But, we're right back to the cost-benefit analysis. How much would Kaepernick's presence on the practice squad actually help the team's defense?

How long before media and fans start calling for Colin Kaepernick to replace Zach Wilson as the team's starting quarterback?

How long before media and fans start calling for Colin Kaepernick to replace Zach Wilson as the team's starting quarterback? (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

It's impossible to quantify, but safe to say that Colin Kaepernick pretending to be Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts doesn't really help the team prepare to face the actual Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts.

No matter how "well" he plays on the practice squad, how long before the media starts calling for him to start over Zach Wilson? What about the media circus surrounding the Jets practice facility?

Is the team going to risk that noise to make their defense, at best, marginally better? Of course not.

But it's a brilliant PR move.

Sometimes you have to give the devil his due.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.