The Miami Dolphins have now actively decided for the second time this season that they are better off not having Colin Kaepernick on their roster. When Ryan Tannehill went down with a season-ending injury, Miami went with Adam Gase's old friend Jay Cutler in a move that made football sense.
Now with Cutler dealing with cracked ribs and Matt Moore set to start on Thursday night against the Ravens, the Dolphins are eschewing another opportunity to sign Kaepernick.
In fact, they're turning to another old friend of Gase's, former Chicago Bears quarterback David Fales, who the Dolphins signed as a backup on Tuesday.
Fales, drafted in the sixth round by the Bears back in 2014, was a backup for the Bears when Gase was the offensive coordinator back in 2015. He played in one game in 2016, attempting five passes. He has two completed passes in his NFL career, or, if you prefer, one more completed pass than Colin Kaepernick has Super Bowl appearances.
Now, it is worth noting that Fales was signed by the Dolphins this offseason as a free agent, set to compete for a backup spot behind Tannehill with Moore. He was released before the season began, but he certainly has lots of experience with Gase's system and he is not likely going to be someone who actually plays.
But that isn't stopping anyone from being angry about Kaepernick remaining unsigned.
So the Dolphins would rather trot out David Fales than Colin Kaepernick if Marr Moore gets injured? https://t.co/idrS82ZtOG
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 24, 2017
Apparently David Fales is better than Colin Kaepernick too pic.twitter.com/K7r9bHiFUv
— julio 🅴 (@My5thAccountSmh) October 24, 2017
Still think the NFL isn’t blackballing Kaepernick? David Fales just got signed to the Dolphins? Who? Exactly…..
— #BreakingLu (@BreakingLu) April 5, 2017
Open up MSN & first thing I see is "Dolphins sign QB not named Kaepernick" Smh
— Jeff (@Gerb3X) October 24, 2017
Instead of signing @Kaepernick7, Dolphins pick up 27 yr old QB who has only completed 2 passes in his career. https://t.co/sSwGwd1xIe
— tony pierce (@busblog) October 24, 2017
Imagine thinking David Fales is a better football player than Colin Kaepernick https://t.co/DQM2r8jC7a
— Ryan Yousefi (@Rizzmigizz) October 24, 2017
NFL teams have acquired a combined 65 quarterbacks since Colin Kaepernick became a free agent. Nobody can still pretend he wouldn't be on a roster by now if not for the protests.
— Brad Gagnon (@Brad_Gagnon) October 24, 2017
Again, this is not too different from the time the Cardinals signed Blaine Gabbert or when the Seahawks signed Austin Davis. In both instances, it was for a backup position behind an established starter (or to battle for a backup position as it were). And in both instances, people freaked out about the whole situation, wondering how on earth a team could sign someone other than Kaepernick.
The former 49ers quarterback, who opted out of his contract in San Francisco but was going to be cut by the team anyway, has filed a grievance against the league for collusion. Essentially Kaepernick believes the owners are conspiring to keep him from getting a job in the NFL.
When you see a team pass on a second opportunity to sign him, it becomes difficult to disagree with the notion that Kaepernick, who is most certainly better than multiple starting quarterbacks, is not being robbed of a job for non-football reasons.