The Colin Kaepernick debate is over

When the Indianapolis Colts, desperately in need of a viable quarterback, dug deep into their emergency contact list to sign Philip Rivers, it was surprising because he was retired and hadn’t played since 2020.

And do you know what has been equally surprising behind this movement? No one of note complained that Colin Kaepernick wasn’t an option.

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There are no complaints about Kaepernick

Kaepernick did not work out with the Colts, was not contacted, or even considered, although the Colts did reach out to other quarterbacks.

And what followed after that omission by Kaepernick was, well, nothing.

There has been no reaction. There are no notable complaints about Kaepernick’s exclusion. There are no charges of racism after Indianapolis hired a 44-year-old white man instead of the 38-year-old black man.

There hasn’t been so much as a mention in NFL media and pundit circles of another Kaepernick snub, not even from Kaepernick’s chief defender, Mike Florio.

So why is this worth mentioning?

It deserves attention because it could signal the end of an era. Finally! He points out that we may be over the days when people accused every NFL team of being racist when they didn’t sign Kaepernick to fill a quarterback need.

Colin Kaepernick arrives for a workout for NFL football scouts and media in Riverdale, Georgia, on Nov. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland, File)

Colin Kaepernick’s memory fades

It signals an understanding that teams don’t care as much about fan or media complaints as they do about Kaepernick’s complications.

He points out that people finally understand the accusations of racism from politically inclined people against the 75 percent black people in the NFL ring.

So, yes, this is a big problem.

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It matters because the faithful who portrayed Kaepernick as some kind of hero when he said, “I’m not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” once forgot how hypocritical he was on the very day of his first protest.

But now maybe they’ve simply forgotten.

Tons of QBs move without complaint

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) on the sidelines during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 6, 2020. (Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports)

Rivers isn’t the first quarterback this year to come out of nowhere and sign a practice squad contract ahead of Kaepernick. We’ve had a lot of quarterbacks, mostly inexperienced, sign contracts with the practice squad throughout this season.

Shane Buechele with the Bills.

Brady Cook with the Jets.

Bailey Zappe with the Browns.

Seth Henigan with the Jaguars before working out for the Colts on Tuesday, just as Rivers did.

Further? Trevor Siemian traveled a lot with the Titans, Chris Oladokun with the Chiefs, Cam Miller with the Raiders.

The Colts also added Brett Rypien

There are about a dozen more quarterbacks hard at work on NFL practice squads. And some of these guys were cut and replaced. Some even became popular with other teams.

Brett Rypien started with the Bengals, then was promoted to the active roster, then was released, then signed to the Colts’ practice squad, then was promoted to Indy’s active roster on Wednesday.

But in the midst of all these movements, no Kaepernick

And there are no complaints about it either.

Activists in 2017 would not recognize this peace.

The end has come for Kaepernick

None of these other guys have reached the ceiling that Kaepernick once did in starting for a Super Bowl team. But his potential is much greater than the bottom Kaepernick fell to at the end of his NFL career.

Notice what I did there? “At the end of his NFL career” was not spelled by mistake.

In fact, that end came after the 2016 season.

As it happens, it took almost a decade for everyone to accept it and seemingly move on.