Joe Flacco is set to miss at the very least a week of training camp after suffering a back injury, according to Adam Schefter. But backs are tricky, and it's no guarantee Flacco will recover that quickly. While Schefter speculated that could open the door for Colin Kaepernick to finally earn a reserve gig with the Baltimore Ravens, the team went in another direction late Thursday night.
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#Ravens signed a QB today. It's David Olson of the KC Phantoms of the CIF -- an arena league. He worked out today (@DraftDiamonds on it 1st)
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 28, 2017
QB David Olson played for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. He gave Olson a good review to John. He'll join the #Ravens for practice tomorrow.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 28, 2017
Head coach John Harbaugh responded to the "speculation" on Kaepernick on Thursday:
Here is the full quote from #Ravens coach John Harbaugh on QB Colin Kaepernick pic.twitter.com/uF3EAxaFdR
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 27, 2017
"I've known Colin through my brother for many years. And we talked and then got to know him very well when he scrimmaged here. He and I have been talking throughout the summer a number of times. We had some great conversations on the phone and it's really been a pleasure to talk to him and get to know him. I like history and politics too, and we've had some debates, and it's been fun. And he's a great guy. He's a guy right now that's being talking about. We'll just see what happens with that. Only speculation right now. He's a really good football player and like I said, I do believe he'll be playing in the National Football League this year."
Joe Flacco injured his back lifting. Took an MRI. Team believes a week of rest will calm injury and not expected to miss significant time.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2017
The move for Olson doesn't rule out a move for Kaepernick, but it does make it less likely.
Kaepernick's former coach is Harbaugh's brother, Jim. He also has the backing of Greg Roman, per Schefter.
Kaepernick could be a significant upgrade and would provide stability behind Flacco as a solid, but much different style quarterback.
Last season, Kaepernick threw for more than 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He went 1-10 in 11 starts.
The biggest question remains — is ownership willing to deal with any potential pushback on signing the former starter.
