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The Las Vegas Raiders have been at the center of a major news story in the NFL over the past 48 hours with news that the team was giving former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick a tryout.
Colin Kaepernick has been in the crosshairs of NFL owners for years since his peaceful protest against police brutality, which included kneeling during the USA's national anthem back in the 2016 season.
Colin Kaepernick's last game in the league was back on January 1, 2017. So, it's been over five years since he has seen any live game action.
Shannon Sharpe, co-host of the FOX Sports One show Undisputed, believes that a failed tryout with the team could mean an end to Colin Kaepernick's chances of joining another NFL franchise.
"The way I look at it, if he's not getting signed by the Raiders, it probably means he's not at the level that he needs to be to be able to compete for a starting job or a job in the NFL. It's not like the Raiders have a murderer's row of backups. It's not like they've got a former pro bowl player, or guys just won a Super Bowl MVP or that have gone a long way. All he has to do is pole vault Nick Mullen, Jared Stidham, Chase Garbers. These are guys. So other teams are probably looking at it like, 'Well damn, if the Raiders didn't sign him, looking at their backup situation, do we really need him?'"
Las Vegas head coach Josh McDaniels has not speculated on their impression of Kaepernick's tryout. But league insiders such as Ian Rapoport have stated that the tryout went off without a hitch.
"On Colin Kaepernick's workout with the #Raiders: Sounds like it went well and he impressed. The door is open..."
Will the Raiders, with or without Colin Kaepernick, win the AFC West in 2022?
The 2022 iteration of the Las Vegas Raiders will look vastly different from the team in 2021 that lost in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The team will look to win the AFC West for the first time since the 2002 season, which is when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. Las Vegas took the first steps to that goal in the offseason by trading for former Packers receiver Davante Adams.
Adams is widely considered the best receiver in the game today, so his arrival will greatly help the offense and quarterback Derek Carr. This will now allow Pro Bowl tight end Darren Waller to have more open space on underneath routes.
The team also bolstered the defense by signing former Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Chandler Jones. The former New England Patriots star has 107.5 career sacks since entering the league in 2012.
He will team up with Maxx Crosby to give Las Vegas the pass rushing tandem needed to get after division quarterbacks Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, and Russell Wilson.
Stay tuned as the offseason rolls on and Las Vegas continues to make moves to topple the Kansas City Chiefs and their reign as AFC West division champions.
