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Ravens Coach, GM To Be Questioned In Kaepernick Collusion Case

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Mike Brest Reporter
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The Baltimore Ravens front office will be questioned Thursday in the ongoing investigation into owners colluding to keep former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick out of the NFL, Pro Football Talk reports.

Kaepernick filed the grievance back in October, citing a belief that owners explicitly worked to keep him out of the league because they were unhappy with his decision to kneel during the national anthem.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome are scheduled to be interviewed today at the team’s facilities. Kaepernick has the option to attend should he choose. He was in attendance during the deposition of Houston Texans’ owner Bob McNair.

When it comes to the collusion grievance being filed, Kaepernick needs to prove that at least two teams, or the league office and a team, worked together to keep him out of the league. That’s the burden of proof they’re up against. If a team chose not to sign him because they didn’t want to deal with the media ramifications of it, that does nothing for his case. They’re allowed to do that. But, the front offices of different teams are not allowed to work jointly to keep him out of the league collectively.

There have been a handful of other quarterbacks that have remained in the league primarily as backups who have shown significantly less skill than Kaepernick showed the last time he played.

This deposition comes at an interesting time — a day after the Ravens signed Robert Griffin III. The Ravens were the team that was closest to signing Kaepernick in the past, but now that doesn’t make sense. They needed a backup and chose Griffin over Kaepernick. Both Griffin and Kaepernick play the same style of football, and Kaepernick was clearly the better player back in 2016, the last time either of them played in the league.

Griffin played five games in 2016 with the Cleveland Browns totaling 886 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Conversely, Kaepernick played 12 games for the Niners and finished with 2,241 yards passing, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.