Colin Kaepernick has been making LA Chargers news headlines.
The recent LA Chargers news has all been about Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick has come back into the light with the recent events of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the rediscussion of kneeling during the National Anthem, something that was sparked by a comment from Drew Brees.
Kaepernick made more Chargers news waves after Anthony Lynn said that teams would be crazy to not have Kaepernick on their workout lists. Lynn also commented that he has not been in touch with Kaepernick but that he does fit the style that the Chargers are looking for and that it is never a bad thing to have too many people on the runway.
That has prompted a discussion around the Chargers community about whether or not the team should at least give Kaepernick a shot and work him out. Our own Alex Insdorf made a great case for why working Kaepernick out is a smart thing to do.
While the Chargers have been the team most connected to Kaepernick in the recent news cycle, they are not the current favorites to sign the former 49ers quarterback.
Chargers News: Three teams have better odds to sign Colin Kaepernick
Jason B. Hirschhorn of Sports Illustrated tweeted out the current odds to sign Kaepernick, courtesy of BetOnline.ag, and many may have been surprised to see the Chargers fourth.
Odds for Colin Kaepernick's next team have been released by @betonline_ag:
Ravens – 9/4Seahawks – 11/4Texans – 4/1Chargers – 9/2Chiefs – 6/1Jaguars – 15/2Vikings – 8/1Titans – 10/1Eagles – 12/1
— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@by_JBH) June 19, 2020
So let’s break it down, why do the three teams ahead of the Chargers have better odds?
Baltimore Ravens:
The Ravens are known for their unique offense that features and is built around a mobile quarterback. The offense is even set up in a way where if Lamar Jackson got hurt, Robert Griffin could come in and it would not be terrible for Baltimore.
Kaepernick would essentially give Baltimore a three-deep quarterback room of quarterbacks with similar skill sets, giving RG3 more competition.
The Ravens absolutely are the kind of team to get creative with quarterbacks as well, although I am not sure they bring Kaepernick in after signing undrafted free agent, Tyler Huntley, who had a very solid season at Utah last year.
Seattle Seahawks:
Geno Smith is the current backup to Russell Wilson and like with the Ravens, you could make the case that the Seahawks would be better off having a three-deep quarterback room of similar, scrambling quarterbacks.
The Seahawks did work out Kaepernick in 2017 and Pete Carroll recently said that he regrets not signing him. That is more than enough juice to give them the second-lowest odds.
Houston Texans:
This is the most interesting team because out of the first four teams (Chargers included), the Texans are the only team that really needs a backup quarterback. AJ McCarron is the current backup.
It makes a lot of sense for Houston to want to bring in a mobile quarterback to be Deshaun Watson’s backup as that could bridge the gap if Watson were to ever get injured. Plus, Watson is still a young quarterback and would benefit, even though he has been in the league for three years now, from playing alongside a Super Bowl veteran like Kaepernick.
As for the LA Chargers, well, it would only make sense to bring Kaepernick in if Tyrod Taylor got injured or if the Chargers are committed to giving Justin Herbert a true redshirt year and do not fully trust Easton Stick, which I would not entirely rule out.