The Atlanta Falcons are the perfect team for Colin Kaepernick

As the draft draws closer it seems increasingly likely the Atlanta Falcons will stick with Marcus Mariota as their starting quarterback perhaps bringing in another veteran option. While the Falcons could still opt to take a quarterback it seems more probable Atlanta will roll with a veteran starter and look to address the position next off-season.

Mariota has had his struggles as a starter and will need competition for the starting job likely meaning Atlanta will bring in another veteran or a mid-to-late-round draft pick to compete with Mariota.

Michigan’s spring game was a reminder that one veteran option remains available to the Falcons, Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick remains jobless and has faced questions as to whether or not he still has the speed and athleticism that helped lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl? While only so much can be taken from a halftime throwing exhibition, it was obvious Colin still has his speed and an NFL caliber arm, one capable of making the tough throws. He is a mobile option who could run the same system as Mariota and has had more playoff success than Marcus has in his career.

To further illustrate this point let’s take a deeper look at the comparison between the two quarterbacks. As a starter, Mariota is 1-1 in his playoff career while Colin is 4-2 with two NFC championship games and a Super Bowl appearance. This record includes a memorable win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Colin has 12,271-career passing yards, 71-passing touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 2,300-rushing yards, 13-rushing touchdowns, and a 28-30 career record. Not mind-blowing numbers but certainly solid production and at the very least worthy of Colin receiving the backup job.

In comparison, Mariota has 13,437-career passing yards, 77-passing touchdowns, 45-interceptions, 1,574-rushing yards, 13-rushing touchdowns, and a 29-32 record.

To further just how similar these two quarterbacks’ career numbers are Mariota has a career rating of 89.5 while Colin has a rating of 88.9 they have had remarkably similar careers and both players were benched for their less mobile backups.

With the Deshaun Watson and Matt Ryan off-season drama, this team is obviously willing to ignore outside noise taking any distraction concerns away from signing Colin. This leaves the problem as to whether or not Kaepernick can still play? If his exhibition on Saturday was any indication not only can he play but he would be an upgrade or a great backup for a lot of teams around the league.

At this point in his career, and with Atlanta’s quarterback situation the way it is there are zero reasons not to give Kaepernick a chance to come in and win the job. Allow the veteran the chance to come in and compete with Mariota. At worst Kaepernick is a huge upgrade over last year’s backup quarterback (Josh Rosen) and at best Atlanta finds a short-term answer at the position.

Even if Kaepernick isn’t a fit with the Falcons he should be able to land at least a backup job elsewhere in the league. As a reminder, Jake Fromm, Mike Glennon, Tim Boyle, Mason Rudolph, Nick Mullens, and Ian Book are just a few of the names that were given a chance or forced into action during the 2021 season.  There is tape proving that Colin Kaepernick is a better option than any of these names and would give teams a legitimate backup or a bridge starter capable of winning games.

Atlanta is the perfect place in their rebuild to bring in Kaepernick at the very least for a workout and give the quarterback a chance to prove he can still play in this league.