NFL teams reportedly consider Colin Kaepernick's vegan diet a red flag

The dialogue surrounding free agent Colin Kaepernick’s employment status is filled with plenty of vitriol, as people debate whether or not he should have a job on football merits and whether or not there’s a vast conspiracy to blackball him from the NFL.

The reality is there’s probably just some middle ground that features a number of teams uninterested in his skill set and several teams who could use him from a football standpoint but do not agree with his political stance and decision to kneel for the national anthem during football games last year. 

Let’s introduce a little bit of gasoline to the already-raging fire then, by passing along a report from CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, who reports that there are some teams concerned by Kaepernick’s vegan diet.

Apparently teams are concerned that Kap going full vegan is a sign that he’s not committed to football.

The idea that a team wouldn’t sign Kaepernick because he doesn’t eat meat is pretty wild. But, look, there are always outrageous reasons for why NFL teams to do things. This wouldn’t be the first one.

However, the whole “vegan diet” thing ... well, it’s working out OK for this guy named Tom Brady. So it’s probably not an issue if Kaepernick isn’t running around with spare ribs hanging out of his mouth. 

The more likely issue is that Kaepernick reportedly wants $9-$10 million and also wants to be a starter. That coupled with the political stance he took last season probably isn’t helping him gain employment. 

But the idea that Kaepernick not getting a job because of his diet isn’t helping the people who don’t want to give him a job look any better when it comes to the optics of the situation.