3 reasons why the Cowboys should sign Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick is still a free agent
Colin Kaepernick is still a free agent

Colin Kaepernick hopes to return to the NFL this offseason, although it is somewhat problematic to find a realistic landing spot for the quarterback.

Following a successful workout with the Las Vegas Raiders, more NFL teams are believed to be open about the idea of signing the 34-year-old as a backup option at QB.

While the Cleveland Browns may be in need of a quarterback to step-in, should Deshaun Watson be suspended by the NFL for an extended period, there is one other wildcard destination that could be ideal for Kaepernick.

With a strong roster, the Dallas Cowboys are positioned to once again win the NFC East this 2022 NFL season. The division hasn't improved a whole lot compared to last season, and the Cowboys unit stands to benefit extensively from an experienced Micah Parsons.

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However, their depth chart at the quarterback position is currently lacking in experience and quality, providing Kaepernick with an opportunity to be a vital addition to the Cowboys.

#1 – Kaepernick can be a better backup QB

Backups Ben DiNucci, Will Grier, and Cooper Rush aren't exactly options that inspire confidence in the team should the starting QB go down.

Prescott has been mostly reliable for the Cowboys over the years, but the team needs to be prepared for the worst to happen.

None of the three mentioned names would have the quality of strength or personality to lead the Dallas Cowboys deep into the playoffs if Prescott went down with an injury at some point during the 2022 season.

Kaepernick, on the other hand, might just have the body of work to do this. The former San Francisco 49er has as much NFL experience as any other available free-agent quarterback.

Currently, the Cowboys’ backups have collectively thrown 145 passes in the NFL. Kaepernick threw more than that in every single season he was a starter in the NFL. If that isn’t an improvement on experience, then it’s difficult to suggest what is.

#2 – Kaepernick’s arrival will generate a lot of media attention in Dallas

Jerry Jones is no stranger to media flames in Dallas. He's turned the Cowboys into one of the most marketable and commercially successful franchises in all global sports.

Signing Kaepernick would be a wildcard move that would immediately place even more press at the door of Jones’ team, and there would be as much positive PR as negative.

Historically, the geographical location of the Cowboys could be seen as problematic for the arrival of someone with his political convictions, especially as fans reportedly threatened a boycott if he was signed back in 2019.

Jerry Jones himself had mandated a strict national anthem policy for his players, something which again wouldn’t necessarily mesh well with the free-agent, although maybe the pair need each other to join hands.

Jones would be making the single biggest move of the offseason if he signed Kaepernick. He’d be opening himself up to all kinds of new sponsorship and investment opportunities with the PR that would come with the move, and the interest in the Cowboys would spike.

This all comes at a time when the Cowboys have their best chance of winning on the field in years, despite the chaotic end to their playoff campaign in 2021, and the more eyes on Dallas winning, the better life is for Jerry Jones.

#3 – Kaepernick knows how to get to a Super Bowl

The Dallas Cowboys have been to the Super Bowl just once since the NFL introduced the salary cap in 1994.

The 2000s has been a millennium of disappointment and heartache for the Cowboys franchise, with only a few bright spots being ultimately stomped on.

At the moment, there is a good-feeling about the Cowboys. They were one of the best teams in the regular season in 2021 and are expected to improve further in 2022.

Kaepernick’s value to the franchise might well be higher off the field than on it.

The difference between falling short in the playoffs and reaching the big game can often be psychological, just ask Steve Young about the infamous ’monkey on his back’.

The Cowboys have scars in the postseason, they can only remember the pain and the 2021 season will have only added further trauma to those wounds.

However, Kaepernick doesn’t have such negative experiences. He reached the Super Bowl as the starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers in 2013, leading the team.

Such experience would be vital to have in the Cowboys locker room, especially when you see how chaos clouded Prescott’s judgement in the dying seconds of the defeat to the Niners in the playoffs.

The veteran would be able to guide players around him, give them advice and encouragement in difficult moments. Players would respect him and would lean on him without a doubt.

It may be time for the Civil Rights icon to accept that his biggest contribution to the NFL can no longer be as a leading passer, but he could be vital as a mentor to a team looking to get over the line.

When you consider how desperate the Dallas franchise is for a return to success, especially while Jones is still alive, this move is one that makes perfect sense.

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Edited by James Meyers