Free agent NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the subject of extreme controversy throughout the 2016-17 season. Kaepernick could be seen kneeling during the national anthem throughout the pre-season and regular season.

That controversy has carried on for Kaepernick into the offseason as he looks to get signed by a team.

This simple gesture caused an uproar with many, and has led some to believe that he’s being blackballed as an unsigned free agent from other teams. I don’t believe it as simple as this argument points out. There are many factors at play in his current free agent situation.

Personally, I don’t like what Kaepernick did when he knelt during the anthem. I understand what and why he was protesting, but I felt it could have been done differently. My family has a history of military veterans, so I immediately saw the gesture as a sign of disrespect to not only the country, but our service men and women as well.

First off, I believe that right now, that Kaepernick is getting blackballed in a sense. I think that NFL teams don’t want to be associated with him, due to the big issue teams would have with the fans, if they were to sign Kaepernick.

I think that we should wait a little more to let his free agency situation further develop, before I would officially be able to say he’s being completely blackballed. Kaepernick may not be a bad player, but that’s part of the problem right now. He’s not a great player.

His last year in San Francisco wasn’t necessarily bad, but it wasn’t that good either. That is part of the equation that teams are looking at when considering Kaepernick. The players usually signed in the beginning of free agency are high impact players and almost all of them have been on a tier higher than Kaepernick impact wise.

It isn’t until usually after the NFL draft that players of Kaepernick’s caliber get signed. They are below the tier of the beginning free agents, and in turn get signed later and later into free agency.

There has been one case in free agency that defies this type of logic. The Chicago Bears signed quarter back Mike Glennon to a $15 million contract very early on in the free agency period. Now, Kaepernick is only asking for around $10 million, so that has left some to use this to show that he’s being blackballed.

I agree it was strange that Glennon got $15 million when Kaepernick hasn’t been signed, but don’t think it was a way of Kaepernick being blackballed. Let’s face it: the Chicago Bears are not a good team. They are not good at finding quarter backs and tend to make a lot of head scratching moves. This has led me to believe that the reason they made that move was simply because of their own incompetence.

The few reasons above is why I believe we should wait and see how Kaepernick’s free agency situation plays out. Teams and fans tend to forgive and forget about a player’s controversies in the past. Former NFL defensive end Greg Hardy is the prime example of this.

He assaulted his girlfriend multiple times in 2014, but was signed to the Dallas Cowboys in 2015 and cheered by fans. Why were the Cowboys willing to pick him up at the time? They needed to fill a position, and Hardy did just that. I believe this philosophy is wrong, but it’s just the way the NFL works and why I believe Kaepernick will eventually get signed.