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When the Indianapolis Colts, in desperate need of a viable quarterback, reached deep into their emergency contacts list to sign Philip Rivers, it was surprising because he was retired and hadn't played since 2020.
And you know what has been equally surprising in the wake of this move? No one of note complained Colin Kaepernick wasn't an option.
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Kaepernick didn't get a workout with the Colts, wasn't contacted, wasn't even considered, although the Colts did reach out to other quarterbacks.
And what followed after that Kaepernick omission was, well, nothing.
There has been no backlash. No notable complaints about Kaepernick being blackballed. No charges of racism after Indianapolis signed a 44-year-old white guy instead of the 38-year-old black guy.
There has not been so much as a mention in NFL media and pundit circles about another Kaepernick snub - not even from Kaepernick advocate-in-chief Mike Florio.
So why is this noteworthy?
It merits attention because it could signal the end of an era. Finally! It signals that maybe we're past the days when people accused every NFL team of being racist when they didn't sign Kaepernick to fill a quarterback need.
It signals an understanding that teams don't care about fan or media complaints nearly as much as Kaepernick's complications.
It signals that folks at last understand charges of racism from people of a certain political bent against the 75-percent-black NFL ring hollow.
So, yeah, this is a big deal.
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It matters because the worshipers that portrayed Kaepernick as some kind of hero when he said, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," once forgot what a hypocrite he was the very day of his first protest.
But now maybe they've just forgotten him.
Rivers is not the first quarterback this year to come out of nowhere and get signed to a practice squad deal ahead of Kaepernick. We've had a slew of mostly unaccomplished quarterbacks sign practice-squad contracts throughout this season.
Shane Buechele with the Bills.
Brady Cook with the Jets.
Bailey Zappe with the Browns.
Seth Henigan with the Jaguars before he worked out for the Colts on Tuesday, just as Rivers did.
More? Well traveled Trevor Siemian with the Titans, Chris Oladokun with the Chiefs, Cam Miller with the Raiders.
There are close to a dozen more such quarterbacks toiling on NFL practice squads. And some of these guys were cut and replaced. Some even caught on with other teams.
Brett Rypien started out with the Bengals, then got promoted to the active roster, then got released, then got signed to the Colts' practice squad, then got promoted to the Indy active roster on Wednesday.
But amid all these moves, no Kaepernick
And no complaints about it, either.
Activists in 2017 would not recognize this peace.
None of these other guys have reached the ceiling Kaepernick once did in starting for a Super Bowl team. But their potential is much higher than the floor Kaepernick fell to at the end of his NFL career.
Notice what I did there? "At the end of his NFL career" was not typed by mistake.
That end indeed came after the 2016 season.
It just so happens that it took nearly a decade for everyone to accept it and apparently move on.
