Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said his team has factored in what the public reaction would be if the Ravens signed quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Speaking to season ticket holders this weekend at a fan fest, Bisciotti said they will balance “what’s best for the team and what’s best for the fans.”
“We’ve very sensitive to it, and we’re monitoring it, and we’re still, as [general manager] Ozzie [Newsome] said, scrimmaging it,” Bisciotti said. “So pray for us.”
The Ravens are mulling signing Kaepernick after starter Joe Flacco suffered a back injury that would keep him out a week. The Ravens elected to sign David Olson — who has mostly recently played as an arena football quarterback — as a camp arm.
Still, the Ravens’ backup quarterback situation is murky, to say the least, with Ryan Mallett. The Ravens could always look to upgrade and are still discussing whether to sign Kaepernick.
In San Francisco, Kaepernick was coached by Jim Harbaugh, the brother to Ravens coach John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh told reporters he has talked to Kaepernick at length about possibly playing with the Ravens.
Bisciotti also addressed if Kaepernick would hurt the team’s “brand.”
“I know that we’re going to upset some people, and I know that we’re going to make people happy that we stood up for somebody that has the right to do what he did,” he said. “Nonviolent protesting is something that we have all embraced. I don’t like the way he did it. Personally, I kind of liked it a lot when he went from sitting to kneeling. I don’t know, I’m Catholic, we spend a lot of time kneeling.”
Kaepernick has been out of an NFL job since March after parting ways with the San Francisco 49ers. He became a national storyline last season when he elected to protest the national anthem during games and became an outspoken advocate against police violence.
Kaepernick has said he would stand for anthem in 2017.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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