The Seattle Seahawks became the first team to host free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick for a visit. It came last month with the Seahawks looking for a backup to quarterback Russell Wilson.
This didn’t come as too much of a surprise given Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll had expressed interest in the much-maligned quarterback in the past (more on that here).
It now looks like Carroll and the Seahawks will not sign Kaepernick right now. Instead, the team is keeping an eye on the quarterback’s situation and will likely assess it down the road.
“At this time we didn’t do anything with it, but we know where he is and who he is,” Carroll said, via NFL.com
Though, that’s not the most interesting aspect of Carroll’s comments.
Carroll on Kaepernick: "At this time we didn't do anything with it but we know where he is + who he is. … He's a starter in this league."
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 2, 2017
“He’s a starter in this league.”
That’s been the major debate surrounding Kaepernick since he decided to opt out of his contract. Many conclude that the quarterback’s National Anthem protest has played a role in him remaining unsigned into June. Others simply don’t believe Kaepernick is a starter-caliber quarterback in the league.
For his part, Carroll already has a franchise quarterback in the form of Russell Wilson. If he does in fact believe Kaepernick is a starter in the NFL, why wouldn’t the head coach push for Seattle to sign him?
Then again, there seems to be some drama surrounding Wilson and his teammates. Maybe Carroll doesn’t want to fan the flame of that potential conflict by adding in someone he believes could start in the NFL.