As Colin Kaepernick sits and waits for an opportunity to join a NFL team, several other quarterbacks like Mike Glennon, Brian Hoyer, Nick Foles, Josh McCown, Matt Barkley, Geno Smith and E.J. Manuel have all signed free agent deals for the 2017 season.

The names of the quarterbacks who have already signed are somewhat surprising, considering many of them are less experienced, less talented and, in some cases, older than Kaepernick. The signings and Kaepernick’s continuing unemployment have some wondering if owners are deliberately punishing the former 49ers star because of his refusal to stand for the national anthem during the 2016 season. Kaepernick has said he will stand for the anthem during the 2017 season.

Cops as pigs socks.

Cops as pigs socks.

A report last week cited an unnamed NFL general manager who said one of the reasons Kaepernick is still a free agent is that some owners and general managers “genuinely hate him.”

“[They] genuinely hate him and can’t stand what he did,” the general manager said. “They want nothing to do with him. They won’t move on. They think showing no interest is a form of punishment.”

Filmmaker Spike Lee suggested the owners were colluding against Kaepernick.

Just Had Brunch With My Brother Colin @Kaepernick7 . How Is It That There Are 32 NFL Teams And Kap Is Still A Free Agent? WTF. Smells MAD Fishy To Me,Stinks To The High Heavens. The New York J-E-T-S Need A Quarterback. Who Is The J-E-T-S Quarterback? Is My Man Joe Willie Namath Coming Back? Crazy Times We Live In. The Question Remains What Owner And GM Is Going To Step Up And Sign Colin So Their Team Has A Better Chance To WIN? What Crime Has Colin Committed? Look At The QB’s Of All 32 Teams. This Is Some Straight Up Shenanigans,Subterfuge, Skullduggery And BS. Ya-Dig? Sho-Nuff. By Any Means Necessary. And Dat’s Da NoFunLeague Truth,Ruth.

A post shared by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on Mar 19, 2017 at 2:10pm PDT

The biggest argument against the 29-year-old Kaepernick is he’s washed up as an effective starting quarterback and his best years are behind him. However, Kaepernick improved during the 2016 season, finishing the year with his best touchdown passes-to-interception ratio of his career, throwing 16 touchdown passes compared to just four interceptions in 12 games.

Remember, Kaepernick was playing for a very bad San Francisco 49ers team that posted a 2-14 record. He also threw to wide receivers who posted the second-highest percentage of dropped passes (sportingcharts.com) and played behind an offensive line that ranked 28th out of 32 teams (profootballfocus.com) in 2016.

Kaepernick’s 90.7 passer rating was better than those of Tyrod Taylor, Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Jameis Winston, Joe Flacco and Cam Newton in 2016.

His numbers compare favorably with other quarterbacks who have already signed contracts, so what other explanation could there be?

Glennon received a three-year, $45 million contract from the Chicago Bears after having started a total of five games in the past three seasons and throwing just 11 passes in the past two seasons. He posted a 1-4 record in those starts, with nine touchdown passes and six interceptions.

Hoyer signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the 49ers. Hoyer’s career completion percentage (59.5) is less than Kaepernick’s (59.8) and Kaepernick is bigger and more athletic. Foles signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Foles posted a career season — 27 touchdown passes, two interceptions — in 2013, but remove that year and he has thrown 28 touchdown passes and 25 interceptions in his career.

Josh McCown signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the New York Jets. McCown is 37. Barkley, a backup for most of his four seasons, signed a two-year, $4 million deal with the 49ers.

Kaepernick may not be light years ahead of those quarterbacks performance-wise, but he’s certainly not worse. The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback and there are no reports of them indicating interest in Kaepernick.

Lots of teams out there need a capable field general. With the lack of available quality quarterbacks, shouldn’t Kaepernick get at least a workout from NFL teams?

— Geoffrey C. Arnold

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