Detroit Lions rumors: Not interested in Colin Kaepernick

Despite a potential need for experience behind Matthew Stafford, the Detroit Lions are not in the market for Colin Kaepernick.

After a injury-plagued start to his career, with just 13 games played over his first two seasons, Matthew Stafford has started all 16 regular season games in six straight seasons. That run of durability has rendered a backup quarterback mostly moot, but the Lions did use a sixth-round pick in April on Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya.

The ongoing unemployment of Colin Kaepernick has picked up some steam lately, with the Seattle Seahawks meeting with him this past week. Any team in the market for a backup quarterback could consider signing Kaepernick, but head coach Jim Caldwell dismissed any potential interest from the Lions.

"“[W]e have the guys that we want at this point in time,” Caldwell said."

But Caldwell also suggested Kaepernick can still be a capable NFL quarterback.

"“I don’t think there’s any question he’s capable,” Caldwell said. “I was on the other side of the field [with the Ravens]. Actually, I was in the press box, but nevertheless when he was playing for the 49ers in the Super Bowl. That was only a couple years ago. So, I don’t think that his skill level has diminished to the point where he would be completely ineffective in this league, so we’ll see.”"

Kaaya obviously has not attempted a pass in an NFL game, and 2016 sixth-round pick Jake Rudock spent most of his rookie season on the Lions’ practice squad. Dan Orlovsky came back to the Lions as Stafford’s backup a couple years ago, but he is a free agent and still looking for a new team.

Caldwell seemed to be very careful with his words, with the idea “we have the guys that we want at this point in time.” It’s not even June, so being entirely out of the market for quarterback depth is unlikely.

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Caldwell is also on the hot seat, entering the final year of his contract with talks about an extension not getting much traction publicly. If Stafford were to miss significant time, having a head coach’s fate rest in Rudock or Kaaya’s hands is not ideal. The Lions may not sign Kaepernick, but bringing in an experienced signal caller has to be an open-ended option.