On Thursday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh suggested that the team could sign quarterback Colin Kaepernick. And then the Ravens signed a player no one has heard from a team no one has heard of in a league no one has heard of.
On Friday, the brother of Kaepernick’s former coach in San Francisco confirmed that the door remains open for the free agent.
“It has to do with our need,” Harbaugh said Friday, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. “Joe [Flacco] is day-to-day. Do we really need to make that move or not? That’s the decision that really has to be made. I think there are a lot of layers to it, just from a football standpoint.”
Although many would say Kaepernick would be an instant upgrade over backup Ryan Mallett, Harbaugh seems to be committed to the one-time (for not a very long time) Texans starter.
“We like Ryan Mallett as the backup quarterback and he fits the offense,” Harbaugh said. “You just got to figure all that stuff out and see what’s best for your team. . . . [Kaepernick’s] body of work speaks for itself. From what I understand, he tells me he’s in first-rate shape and he’s been throwing. We’ll see how it plays out.”
It’s safe to assume that Kaepernick wasn’t offered the “camp arm” gig because he wouldn’t have accepted a minimum-salary deal and bottom-of-roster status. But it’s unclear whether the offer was made, and whether it would have been accepted.