Richard Sherman could name several starting quarterbacks in the NFL that he thinks Colin Kaepernick is better than.

So, the question is, why does Kaepernick remain jobless? Well, the sharp, outspoken Seattle Seahawks veteran cornerback has a theory about that, too.

“What is it about?” Sherman said, speaking with USA TODAY Sports recently. “It’s not about football or color. It’s about, ‘Boy, stay in your place.’

“He played in [former San Francisco 49ers coach] Chip [Kelly]’s system last year and went 16-4 (TD-to-INT ratio) on a bad team," Sherman continued. "He played well because he’s a good football player. He may not be the best, but he’s better than a lot of these dudes starting.”

Like many, Sherman doesn't have any doubt that Kaepernick is being blackballed from the NFL by the league's owners for kneeling during the national anthem last year as a protest against racism and police brutality against unarmed Black men.

“The funny thing about it, when you’re not being blackballed, you don’t have to say he’s not being blackballed,” Sherman said. “When football’s a safe game, you don’t have to say, ‘Football’s a safe game.’ It seems like the [NFL] Commissioner [Roger Goodell] always has to say things to justify something. But you didn’t even do this with Mike Vick. Vick came back and (eventually) got a $100 million deal.”

Sherman, who played against Kaepernick for several years in NFC West division action, also believes that fellow NFL players are doing the former QB a great "disservice" by not speaking up on his behalf.

“Not a lot of guys are willing to step out there,” Sherman said. “So the guys not speaking up for him are doing him a disservice. There should be a lot more guys saying something. Most guys are like, ‘I don’t want my job to end up the same way.’

“Mike B, speaks up,” he continued, referring to his Seahawks teammate Michael Bennett. “But on our team, it’s like, ‘They’re a bunch of hippies over there.’"

As Sherman said, Kaepernick is better than several quarterbacks in the NFL, leaving little doubt that owners are not taking a chance on him because of his national anthem protest and not his skills.

Do you think Kaepernick will have an NFL QB gig before the season starts? Will it take a starting QB being injured for an NFL franchise to sign him?

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