Check the Stats, Kaepernick Should Have a Job

For all the people that say Colin Kaepernick does not have a job because he is not a god enough quarterback, please check again. I know he has the right to express his opinion and teams have the right not to sign him for that, I am not denying that. However, if you are denying that is the reason he is not getting signed, you are blatantly wrong. To me, this is not opinionated. The reason he is not signed, is because he kneels during the National Anthem. I am not here to say whether or not his kneeling should keep him from being on a team. I am here to say that Colin Kaepernick is in fact good enough to be on a team. Don't believe me? You will soon. I will prove my point using multiple comparisons and methods.

Now, let's get this straight: Kaep is far from an elite quarterback. But is there 64 better players out there at the position? No, absolutely not. Colin Kapernick is not only good enough to be a backup, but he is good enough to start in the NFL. Yes, I said start in the NFL. First, let's look at where his 2016 stats rank in the league.

2016 Stats and League Ranking

QB Rating: 90.7 (16th)

TD%: 4.8 (13th)

Int%: 1.2 (6th)

Comp%: 59.8 (26th)

Y/A: 6.8 (24th)

Y/C: 11.4 (17th)

TD/Int: 4 (6th)

Woah, you mean Kaep isn't ranked 32nd in anything? No, he is not. In fact, he ranks top 6 in 2 stats, top 15 in 3 and top 20 in 5 of the 7 major QB stats. The TD/Int really stands out to me along with the QB Rating. I think these stats show that he is an average QB with higher upside considering this was not the best year of his career partially due to the joke of a team he was taking snaps for. As far as his 2016 season stats go, Colin is at LEAST a league average QB. Let's continue.

If you do not think those stats mean all that much, how about we compare his 2016 to some respectable starting QBs. I'll leave the comparisons nameless for now. Doing so will allow for you to really pay attention to how close they all are statistically to Kaep.

Player A:

QB Rating: 91.8

TD%: 3.2

Int%: 1.4

Comp%: 64.7

Y/A: 7.5

Y/C: 11.6

TD/Int: 2.25

Player B:

QB Rating: 87.9

TD%: 35.7

Int%: 3.6

Comp%: 60.4

Y/A: 7.6

Y/C: 12.6

TD/Int: 1.57

Player C:

QB Rating: 87.2

TD%: 4.4

Int%: 2.3

Comp%: 61

Y/A: 7.1

Y/C: 11.6

TD/Int: 1.86

Player D:

QB Rating: 92.6

TD%: 3.8

Int%: 2.0

Comp%: 64.7

Y/A: 7.7

Y/C: 12

TD/Int: 1.9

This list is not exactly full of elite QBs, but what it is full of is respectable ones that are in absolutely no jeopardy of losing their starting jobs. Why are they unquestionable starters when Colin can not even get a backup role? Simple, it is because he kneels during the anthem.

Player A: Andy Dalton

Player B: Philip Rivers

Player C: Carson Palmer

Player D: Russell Wilson

Kaepernick was arguably better than Players A, B and C last year. Consider the teams they played on and that makes it even more impressive. Of course, player D was better than Kaep was, but when you look at how similar their stats were I bet you never would have guessed it would be Russell Wilson, a borderline elite QB with a ring.

Lastly, let's look at a picture comparing some of Kaepernick's career stats to that of Colt's quarterback (who some call a star), Andrew Luck. It may surprise you.

Kapernick is for sure a top 15 QB in the NFL and definitely is good enough to start for more than a few teams. So, I never want to hear anyone say "Colin Kaepernick does not have a job because he is not good enough" because that is simply not true. He could definitely start for a team like the Browns, Jets, Dolphins and more. He does not have a job because he causes "drama" by simply standing up for what he believes in.