San Francisco 49ers

49ers' Kaepernick: Improving on the field, regressing off of it

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Nov 27, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) after a game against Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has pleasantly been showing signs of improvements on the football field. Unfortunately, he has been creating increasingly more controversy off of it.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick appears to be improving on the field since his return in Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills. Kaepernick’s stats for that game: 13 completions on 29 attempts (44.8%) for 187 yards and a touchdown, good for a 77.8 passer rating. His rating dipped significantly the week after but since then has remained fairly decent.

An imperfect metric, sometimes Kaepernick’s passer rating has rewarded him for a couple of big plays without punishing him for many atrocious throws. Nevertheless, it is clear that Kaepernick is improving on the field. His vision, still sub-par, appears to be a bit better. He has gained better rapport with Jeremy Kerley and Torrey Smith — who had a beautiful touchdown reception last week.

Kaepernick’s passes, often low, short, or behind his receivers, have become a bit more consistently on target as well. There is still much room for improvement, and Kaepernick’s strength still seems below his peak a few years back.

But as critical of Kaepernick as I can be and have been, he has been improving on the field.

Off the field, not so much.

Whatever you think of Colin Kaepernick’s protests and statements, his right to free speech first and foremost must be acknowledged. And Kaepernick must be commended for taking full advantage of his platform as a quarterback in the NFL to spread his message. Agree or disagree, he has been taking stands, which I can appreciate.

However, to praise Fidel Castro the week leading up to a game in Miami was simply stupid. I do not mean this from a political standpoint — political viewpoints are the last thing I want to get into on this site. What I mean, rather, is that igniting controversy in a city filled with Cuban immigrants is not smart.

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Miami is filled with immigrants who dislike Castro with an intense vitriol. To anger them and seemingly disregard them as such before visiting the city is completely void of class. His walk-back of praise did not seem to be enough, at least for me.

Hopefully Kaepernick has learned his lesson. He can protest all wants, I think it’s great that he stands up for what he believes in. But he should not praise a former dictator before visiting a city that hates the guy.

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