Benjamin Watson: NFL teams colluding to keep Colin Kaepernick out

Benjamin Watson thinks Colin Kaepernick’s absence from the NFL isn’t all talent-based.

Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson believes Colin Kaepernick’s continued unemployment is partially the result of the NFL colluding to keep him out of the league. 

In an interview Thursday on SI Now, Watson said he thinks the cause behind Kaepernick’s ongoing job search is “two-fold.” First, Watson said, is Kaepernick’s skillset. 

“Certain teams want certain types of quarterbacks,” Watson.

The second cause, Watson said, is “very obvious”—Kaepernick’s protest of the national anthem last season. 

“There are many teams and GMs that don’t want to deal with that,” Watson said. “For many of them, whenever you have a team, you’re always aware of how the actions of specific individuals will positively or negatively effect your team. That is a huge factor with him and I think that’s part of the reason why he’s not employed.”

“I don’t think this specific event is the first time the NFL has colluded,” Watson continued, after being asked whether the league may be punishing Kaepernick for his protest last season. “It’s not the first time they’ve colluded. If you can remember going through the negotiations in the lockout and those sorts of things, the NFL has been proven to collude for different reasons—whether it be suppression of salaries or whether it is, in this case, possibly because of Colin Kaepernick’s stance with the national anthem.”

• Austin Davis's deal confirms talent isn't the issue behind Kaepernick's free agency

The closest Kaepernick has come to signing a new contract this spring was with the Seahawks recently. Kaepernick worked out with Seattle and head coach Pete Carroll said he still has the talent to be an NFL starter, but the Seahawks opted to sign Austin Davis instead.