Michael Vick: Colin Kaepernick is not being blackballed by NFL teams

Why is Colin Kaepernick unemployed? That debate continues to rage, but many seem to believe it’s because of his protest of the national anthem last season — a protest that grew in support and participation over the course of the year.

One former player who has thrown his support behind Kaepernick’s message is Michael Vick, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he believes the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is being deliberately blackballed.

While appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Monday, Vick implied Kaepernick’s declining performance is the main reason he remains unsigned.

“It has nothing to do with him being blackballed. The gesture he made last year when he took a stand and did what he did, listen, we all appreciated it. We respected it. It was a good thing,” Vick said. “The stand that he took has nothing to do with him not having a job and playing in the National Football League right now. And being frank, Colin didn’t have the best two years his last two seasons. It wasn’t as productive as what we’ve seen him do.”

Vick went on to add that some of Kaepernick’s on-field struggles could be attributed to coaching changes and the “musical chairs” of personnel around him, but ultimately feels it’s the poor game film that’s kept the 29-year-old from being signed.

While it may be impossible to say Kaepernick’s protest has nothing to do with him being unsigned, the fact that he’s no longer considered a starting NFL quarterback plays a pivotal role.

Eventually, some NFL team will offer Kaepernick a contract, but it will likely come with low expectations and a low salary. And if he remains adamant that he wants to start in 2017, then he may find himself sitting out a year or until a team is in desperate need of an arguably marginal talent at the position.