3-Wide: Is Colin Kaepernick being blacklisted?
3-Wide is a weekly feature in which theScore's NFL editors debate the hot topics around the league. Grab a cold towel and brace for hot takes.
What free agent are you most surprised is still available?
Mitch Sanderson: Is everyone really that scared off of Michael Floyd? The 27-year-old entered the 2016 season expecting to hit a big payday in free agency. Obviously, his huge drop off in production and DUI arrest has soured his value, but nothing? Really? Any team looking for a potential starting wideout should be able to sign Floyd on a cheap, "prove it" deal with minimal risks. This guy clearly has talent and has shown he possesses the physical gifts to be successful in the NFL. Give him a shot.
Michael McClymont: The man led the league with a staggering 18 rushing touchdowns, yet we have heard but a peep from LeGarrette Blount during this free-agency period. Blount is far from washed up, coming off a season in which he nearly totaled 300 carries. His Super Bowl performance may have scared off some suitors, with his lost fumble playing a large role in the Patriots falling behind early.
Arun Srinivasan: Adrian Peterson is still available well into free agency, a prospect that once seemed unfathomable. Plenty of people have waxed poetic about the perceived devaluation of running backs, especially after they turn 30, but Peterson's a rare athletic talent that warrants another chance. Some teams may be wary of Peterson's injury history, but the fact that he hasn't received an offer remains baffling, considering the low-risk, high-reward output he promises.
What proposed rule change do you most want to see the NFL implement?
McClymont: It may open up Pandora's Box, but coaches should be allowed to challenge all penalties. Such a change could ultimately work against the league's stated goal to shorten the game, but there have been far too many instances in which an incorrect penalty was given and teams have been unable to correct it with a challenge.
Srinivasan: Keep the rule stipulating that two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls will lead to an ejection, on a permanent basis. The NFL vaguely expressed its concern about player safety for years, but this is a tangible measure that will keep players out of harm's way. Much akin to the two-yellow-card rule equaling a red card in soccer, it's a measure that penalizes players for going over the line, and should be kept in place entering the 2017 season.
Sanderson: Putting the ball at the 20-yard line after a kickoff where the ball travels through the uprights may be the solution to the NFL's kick-returning problem. The league has been searching for ways to reduce the number of kicks returned in an effort to reduce injuries. Moving the ball to the 25-yard line had mixed results last year, but getting kickers more involved and giving them a relatively challenging way to keep their teammates from being injured seems like a win-win.
Is Colin Kaepernick being blacklisted?
Srinivasan: Colin Kaepernick is absolutely being blacklisted by the NFL's 32 teams, an appalling response to his national anthem protest, and donation to Meals on Wheels. The NFL can't hide its conservative inklings under the veneer of patriotism much longer, or rather, its philosophy is now increasingly transparent. Considering some of the replacement-level options that are garnering visits instead of Kaepernick, it's a jarring, unjust response to a player that's trying to generate a discourse amid a climate of political peril.
Sanderson: Some teams are probably not going to bother touching Kaepernick for political reasons, but I think the real reason he hasn't gotten a job is because of his playing style. Kaepernick is really only effective if he's in an offense built for a mobile quarterback (which there are not many of) and he's going to be a backup - no one is going to alter their offense for the sake of a backup. It's a shame he hasn't been able to get his charitable self on a roster, but honestly, there are like three teams who run an offense that works for him.
McClymont: It is so much of a fact that Kaepernick is being blacklisted that he took to announcing the end of his anthem protest in a blatant concession to any interested parties that may have been put off. Kaepernick is 29 years old with a Super Bowl appearance under his belt and just five seasons and three games of service time. Any other option with such credentials would have at least had scheduled visits with prospective teams.