Are there 63 better quarterbacks in the NFL?

[mgteich]

Of course, there will more than 64 qb's being paid for the 2018 season. Some will be 3rd string QB's; some will be on IR; some will be on Practice Squads.

I understand why we might not want to sign Kaepernick. However, it is clear (at least to me) that he is a better quarterback than some of the quarterbacks that will be on teams in September.

Senator Marco Rubio defends Colin Kaepernick, thinks he deserves to be in the NFL

 

[Deus Irae]

Are there 63 better quarterbacks in the NFL?

It is clear that, due to differences in systems and QB situations, said question is not the one to ask.

 

[XLIX]

No there are not 63 better QB's in the NFL. The reason why teams do not want to sign Kaepernick is because of the tremendous distraction he would bring to any team that signed him. Distractions are poison, especially to teams already hanging on by a thread (which is most of the league outside New England).

Bottom line: A lot of GMs are saying "Kaepernick may have more talent than our backup QB, but he nevertheless makes us a worse team." They're probably right.

 

[scout]

Some teams would not be able to handle the distractions. Kap doesn't fit into the offensive strategy of other teams. Then, there are owners who are racist (Houston) and are part of the blackballing. Get your popcorn ready.

 

[Ring 6]

Yes there are. At one point he was good enough but that wa a long time ago.
Before the league figured out what harbaugh was runnng with him.
Before he decided politics were more important than his team
Before his play digressed and he sucked.
Before he evidently started eating as a vegan losing a bunch of weigh and not caring about developing as a QB.

Woukd 2013 Kaepernuck have a job? Of course, regardless of his politics. But 2018 kaepernick doesn’t warrant one.

 

[Ring 6]

No there are not 63 better QB's in the NFL. The reason why teams do not want to sign Kaepernick is because of the tremendous distraction he would bring to any team that signed him. Distractions are poison, especially to teams already hanging on by a thread (which is most of the league outside New England).

Bottom line: A lot of GMs are saying "Kaepernick may have more talent than our backup QB, but he nevertheless makes us a worse team." They're probably right.

Actually I think GMs are saying he is a distraction and he can’t play so why bother.

 

[TheRainMaker]

The fact that Brian Hoyer was a starting QB last year and Kaep is still not on a roster says a lot about how fed up owners were with his antics. While Kaep is terrible, he's not even as close to as bad as Hoyer is. From watching every start in SF last year, Hoyer has no business being in the NFL. The guy loves to audible the crap out of every play but couldn't complete a pass. He was so bad, they should've punted on 3rd down to have better field position.

However, even before his kneeling antics, Kaep was not a marketable person at all and not someone you'd want as the "face of the franchise". He was terrible at his press conferences, refused to tell the media anything and was known as a loner by teammates. And his play was declining dramatically. This is why teams have signed a worse player than Kaep. He dug his own grave and he has a ton of free time to go kneel wherever he wants.

What the media fails to understand is that NFL teams do not have to sign a player if they don't want to.

 

[Pessimistic Pete]

Probably not, question is silly though. The real question

"Does being the 28-35th best quarterback in the NFL (who went 1-10 in his final season) make up for being the undisputed #1 most controversial player in the NFL?"

The answer is no.

Guy would have to be a Pro-Bowl caliber, not "solid backup" caliber quarterback to make up for his extreme off-the-field reputation.

 

[IcyPatriot]

He opted out of his deal ... that can and will be used against him. Regardless of talent ... any or all of the 32 teams can simply state that he cannot be trusted to do all it takes to compete for a spot on the team - he's a quitter.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Yeah, I’m actually sympathetic to his cause. Not the pig socks, but sure on the take a knee thing. He viewed something as being more important than football. OK.

What he and political supporters don’t get is that one term of “using the platform he has,” is having a platform.

He had to keep pace several ways to maintain his platform. He did not. He played poorly, he made decisions not in line with his value, and he lost his platform. And Yes, if TFB wore his hat on the field and led chants of “build the wall,” even HE would be in trouble... & frankly Gisele would stomp his ass flat before any team discipline. Point is, at some point, even the GOAT could make himself more trouble than he’s worth. Kaep is so eminently replaceable, he’s lost any shot at a “platform.” Ain’t worth it.

Like I said I like his politics better than Brady’s. BUT THATS NOT WHAT A QB IS FOR.

You can’t “make” somebody “give the guy a chance” when he sux. Just give him and Tebow the nfl pro bowl teams to QB, they’ve made such a farce of it anyway. Forget AFC-NFC. Forget E-W, blue-gray, make it the political darlings bowl. Shoot, that’s how our tribes break down now, would give it SOME relevance.

 

[anditsgood]

unfair and irreverent question, unless you are leading to a biased and loaded question, for a predestinated answer

Would Kaep fit all 32 teams offenses, and IF Not, which offense would fit his play where he can play backup or supplant a starter? Colins play was a bit schizophrenic and his better days are behind him and with time away from NFL level of play, i am almost confident saying, hes done and really dont have a place in the NFL

Those that say he can and should play, should name the teams where his play fits their offense

 

[Deus Irae]

The fact that Brian Hoyer was a starting QB last year and Kaep is still not on a roster says a lot about how fed up owners were with his antics. While Kaep is terrible, he's not even as close to as bad as Hoyer is.

Hoyer is actually an excellent example of why the Titular question was the wrong one to ask. Hoyer is a more than capable backup, who knows how to play within the Patriots system. Kaepernick's QB weaknesses are precisely the things that the Patriots offense relies upon: Speedy play diagnosis + accuracy + ability to move to second and third reads quickly and all of that from within the pocket.

So, even if you thought Kaepernick was the better overall QB (and I don't necessarily buy that), he's not a good fit as Tom Brady's backup.

 

[Deus Irae]

Here are some teams where, without hesitation, it's easy to say that Kaepernick is a both a lousy fit as a backup strictly for scheme reasons, and a lesser QB than the starter:

Patriots
Falcons
Saints
Vikings
Lions
Chargers
49ers (based solely upon a small sample size, but it's all we have)
Colts (if Luck is healthy)

So, even giving Kaepernick the benefit of all doubts, and keeping in a very narrow range of reasoning for crossing off, we're already down from 62 QB slots to 46

 

[maust]

He opted out of his deal ... that can and will be used against him. Regardless of talent ... any or all of the 32 teams can simply state that he cannot be trusted to do all it takes to compete for a spot on the team - he's a quitter.

His opting out is a point lost on a lot of people which is unfortunate since it really says a lot about just how out of touch with reality he is. The story goes that he opted out because the team was going to anyway (not sure how credible that was). The point being he wanted to get his name out there early for all the teams he was convinced were going to beat a path to his door. Totally clueless.

 

[anditsgood]

Yeah, I’m actually sympathetic to his cause. Not the pig socks, but sure on the take a knee thing. He viewed something as being more important than football. OK.

What he and political supporters don’t get is that one term of “using the platform he has,” is having a platform.

He had to keep pace several ways to maintain his platform. He did not. He played poorly, he made decisions not in line with his value, and he lost his platform. And Yes, if TFB wore his hat on the field and led chants of “build the wall,” even HE would be in trouble... & frankly Gisele would stomp his ass flat before any team discipline. Point is, at some point, even the GOAT could make himself more trouble than he’s worth. Kaep is so eminently replaceable, he’s lost any shot at a “platform.” Ain’t worth it.

Like I said I like his politics better than Brady’s. BUT THATS NOT WHAT A QB IS FOR.

You can’t “make” somebody “give the guy a chance” when he sux. Just give him and Tebow the nfl pro bowl teams to QB, they’ve made such a farce of it anyway. Forget AFC-NFC. Forget E-W, blue-gray, make it the political darlings bowl. Shoot, that’s how our tribes break down now, would give it SOME relevance.

I like my sports politics free ,personally, whether or not i agree with it, not sure if having hat left in your locker or people/friends you have. is political statements

 

[Deus Irae]

Here are some teams where, while Kaepernick might theoretically be massaged into the scheme fits with some level of work, he's clearly not as good as the starting QB:

Packers
Steelers
Seahawks
Panthers
Eagles
Raiders (Probably should have been in the first list, but can fit here)
Texans (again, small sample size, but Watson is obviously superior if you base if off that small sample)

That's another easy 7 slots off the board, taking us down to 39.

And, since Foles has demonstrated his proficiency as the backup in Philly, that's a backup slot from among these teams, taking us down to 38.

 

[lancerman]

No there are not 63 better QB's. There might not even be 32 QB's.

Here are the problems with Kaep.

1. First and foremost he is a distraction and incredibly controversial amongst the country and fanbase.
2. He's at best a back up or stop gap, so he's not worth the distraction.
3. He's someone who needs to be in the right offense to work so it limits his teams choices.
4. His girlfriend called one of the owners who might have signed him a slave owner.
5. He does not seem to be willing to take a pay cut.

6. I'm really glad this wasn't some delusional thread about Etling.

 

[chasa]

Hoyer is making 1.5 million, Kap i don't think will play for that, as evidence by the fact that her turned down a contract because the money wasn't high enough(see the collusion investigation, Colin Kaepernick Has Reportedly Turned Down Offers to Serve as Backup | FOX Sports Radio) In addition, Kap opted out of a contract that would have paid him what 15 mil a year?

So lets say at the top end he wants to be paid what he gave up that puts him in this territory:

Tyrod Taylor/Kace Keenum/Andy Dalton

Dalton isn't going anywhere, he's their franchise qb atm.

Tyrod is a pretty reliable, and he's a good fit for what the browns are going to do

Keenum just took his team to the NFCCG.

Lets look at guys just below that, which could be replaceable:

Nick Foles is getting 5 mil to be a backup, well he did just win the superbowl, the eagles are not ****ing with that

Chase Daniels is the Matt shaub of this generation also 5 mil Would Kap take 5 mil to be a backup to a rookie he has no chance of replacing? doubtful

Then you dip down into the 1mil range, and we know kap wont take that kind of deal.

 

[Deus Irae]

Here are teams with high round rookie draft picks from this year, who aren't going to cut those picks for Kaepernick:

Browns
Jets
Bills
Ravens
Cardinals
Steelers

That's another 6 slots off the board, which takes us down to 32. Then you add Flacco (Ravens) to these slots, as his salary and position essentially make him uncuttable, and McCown (Jets), as he's around specifically to serve as a tutor to the Rookie Darnold, along with Bradford (Cardinals) who signed for more than a pittance of guaranteed money and is the sort of pocket QB that the Cardinals will want paired with Rosen, and we're down to 29.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Kaepernick's QB weaknesses are precisely the things that the Patriots offense relies upon: Speedy play diagnosis + accuracy + ability to move to second and third reads quickly and all of that from within the pocket.

The attributes you describe is something Brian Hoyer has shown he can't do. Coming from someone who watched every start of his in SF, he was an embarrassment. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing out there. He would audible a ton at the line of scrimmage and then either take sack, overthrow/underthrow a WR or just flat out make the wrong read. He was bad in NE when he was here and he's best known for blowing the game in the '09 season finale against the Texans. Granted he was a rookie, but he couldn't do his job so Brady had to come back in and try to win the game. They had that game wrapped up but ended up losing.

So, even if you thought Kaepernick was the better overall QB (and I don't necessarily buy that), he's not a good fit as Tom Brady's backup.

I agree that Kaep would be a terrible fit in NE's offense. However, my point was that there are a lot worse QB's on other teams rosters because Kaep is not worth the headache.