The Las Vegas Raiders have displayed support for the Black Lives Movement. In the same manner, owner Mark Davis said the organization recognizes Juneteenth as a holiday and wouldn’t mind the team signing quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
In a recent Tweet, Paul Gutierrez of ESPN mentioned Davis told him Raiders employees will have a company day off on Juneteenth. Also, the owner added, “since 2017, I’ve told coaches and general managers that if they want to sign Colin Kaepernick, they have my blessing.”
Just spoke w/#Raiders owner Mark Davis, who said team employees have a “company-paid day off on Juneteenth.†Also asked about @Kaepernick7, Davis said, “Since 2017, I’ve told the coaches and general managers that if they want to hire Colin Kaepernick, they have my blessing.â€
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) June 17, 2020
The Raiders aren’t the first team to give their employees the day off. They join the Packers, Texans, Cardinals, Ravens, and Lions, among others, in recognizing the holiday. Nonetheless, it’s good to see they haven’t fallen behind when it comes to taking action off the field.
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Raiders: Davis Wouldn’t Have Mind Kaepernick
The Raiders aren’t in the market for a quarterback, but if they needed one, they would have Davis’ approval to sign Kaepernick. Derek Carr is the starting quarterback and Marcus Mariota is a more than competent backup. Currently, it just wouldn’t make sense to bring Kaepernick aboard. In past years though, it would have made sense as Las Vegas’ had less-than-stellar choices had Carr gone down with injuries.
Last year, it was Mike Glennon, who would have likely crashed if he had taken meaningful snaps. The season before, it was A.J. McCarron, who hasn’t showed he can carry a team either. Carr was healthy enough in those two years that there wasn’t a need for his backups to see the field. E.J. Manuel was the team’s backup in 2017. He ended up starting one game and his stats weren’t earth-shattering. In those years, the Raiders’ overall talent wasn’t much. Nevertheless, Kaepernick would have been an instant upgrade over those at the backup quarterback position.
Nobody really knows how good in shape Kaepernick is, but early in his career, his play was electrifying. Even in his last season as a starter, 2016, he wasn’t half bad despite the fact the 49ers were devoid of offensive talent. In limited action, Kaepernick had 16 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Likewise, he averaged 6.8 yards per attempt, close to Carr’s 7.0 in a season that year.
In a way, it’s a good thing the Raiders have a solid quarterback situation. On the other hand, it would be interesting to see what Kaepernick could bring to the table.
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Top Photo: Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group
