Last Saturday night, I was home when it was released that Colts QB Andrew Luck was retiring from the National Football League only at age 29. At this point, the Colts only have three quarterbacks on their roster and a multitude of talent from where they had success last season, especially on both sides of the ball. 

The Packers went through a similar situation in October of 2017 when Aaron Rodgers was sacked by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr at U.S. Bank Stadium. Of reports at the time, it was heard across most Wisconsin sports outlets about option A or option B. At the time, Brett Hundley was in his third year in the league and really didn’t have a ton of options as far as what to do. The show was his and the responsibility fell on his shoulders to lead an offense. As we saw at the time, he was not ready for the spotlight; the Packers crashed and burned, and the next season after a late loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals, Mike McCarthy was shown the door. Time and time again, critics and fans screamed one name that could’ve been the savior or at least a veteran presence to the team: Colin Kaepernick. 

But Kaepernick hasn’t played in a live football game since 2016, back when the Niners were about to go on a complete transformation of the franchise. I mean, the team was pathetic. No offensive weapons all together, and that responsibility fell on the front office at the time. The league is so different today than it was 3 years ago. Kaepernick proceeded to go on his journey of political activism, especially towards brutality and racism of African-Americans by law enforcement, by kneeling during the national anthem. While he has shown that he is on pace and ready to go back on the football field, I am very hesitant to believe that some NFL franchise is going to want this attention and backlash on their plate. 

Listen, I’m all for free speech and doing what we want to. We live in a country where we can do whatever the hell we want to do. If you want to be unemployed and play video games all day, go ahead and do it. If you want to build a website or start your own business, go for it. If you’d rather work hard and get a hands-on trade job and make 60K a year plus benefits, the more power to you. There’s almost always a consequence (could be both positive or negative) for any choice you do with life. Kaepernick’s choice to kneel during an anthem is what he believes in making his voice be heard. As a result to Kaepernick’s activism, it was reported the league saw an 8% decline in viewing as a result of these protests. 

For those of you completely disagreeing with my so far – you need a check at reality. Why would anyone want to bring him to their franchise? Is it going to hurt their chances at revenue? Bringing in fans to fill the stadiums? Causing more protests and harm – requiring more backup and support from security or law enforcement? Is that the kind of effort that is required or wanted based off of one individual like this?

Today, we live in a world where no matter what you do, you are not going to please everyone. We saw that with Andrew Luck retiring early, fans booing him as he ran off the field. Antonio Brown wants a new helmet – the league restricts that and he loses his grievance not once, but twice. I hate to say it, but Colin Kaepernick isn’t going to be in the league anytime soon, if ever again. He brings the negative media attention that most teams do not want to have. I would bet to say we may not see him again in the XFL either. 

Indianapolis is better off riding the storm out with Jacoby Brissett – he has proven he can last a season and this time around, has weapons in T.Y. Hilton, Parris Campbell, Eric Ebron and Marlon Mack at his disposal. If the Colts want to look at a different spot at the backup position, I’m sure that after roster cuts, there may be some guys with NFL experience left and available to start should Brissett have to miss a game or two: Guys like DeShone Kizer, Kevin Hogan, Teddy Bridgewater (see Tanner Johnson’s latest blog for a possibility), Tom Savage, or Mike Glennon. Maybe Indianapolis is the destination for second year QB Josh Rosen.

I appreciate all comments and criticisms – Please leave a comment below and be sure to follow Pro Sports Extra on Twitter. 

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