Colin Kaepernick is the kind of rebel that fits the Raiders’ philosophy and organizational identity and would be a perfect signing on many levels
When you think about the glory days of the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, what is the first image or idea that comes to mind? For most, it is the idea of the Raiders as the rebels or renegades that were never afraid of going against the grain or pushing the status quo.
This started at the very top of the organization with the late Al Davis who was never scared of speaking his mind and doing things that other teams were just plain scared to do. Al Davis was the first NFL owner to hire a minority head coach in Tom Flores, hired, and elevated a woman in Amy Trask to eventually become the team’s CEO, and had no issues hiring Black head coaches which is something the NFL still struggles with.
Aside from not caring about someone’s identity when it came to high-profile jobs, Al would also always be on the lookout for the outcasts and castoffs from other NFL teams and help them revitalize their careers. Whether it was legal issues, personality conflicts with their previous coaches, or just a guy deemed past his prime, Al would always bet on talent and give them another chance.