Eli Harold on Colin Kaepernick Being Unsigned: 'It's Frustrating'

Eli Harold may no longer be teammates with Colin Kaepernick, but the San Francisco 49ers linebacker remains disappointed the free-agent quarterback hasn't signed with a team.

"It's frustrating. It's frustrating for me because I really think it has everything to do with the protest that he did," Harold said, per ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner. "Some general managers and owners are scared to touch him simply because they're scared to lose revenue, money. We all know he's better than some of these guys that went in free agency but that's neither here nor there. He'll be signed by training camp, by the time training camp starts. But it's frustrating."

Many NFL fans have speculated Kaepernick's inability to find a new home is a direct reaction to his decision to kneel during the national anthem last year in protest of police brutality. Harold was among those who protested alongside Kaepernick.

Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman was blunt with regard to his opinion about Kaepernick remaining unsigned:

New York Giants co-owner John Mara told The MMQB's Jenny Vrentas fans had been outspoken about Giants players potentially protesting in the way Kaepernick did.

"All my years being in the league, I never received more emotional mail from people than I did about that issue," Mara said. "If any of your players ever do that, we are never coming to another Giants game. It wasn't one or two letters. It was a lot. It's an emotional, emotional issue for a lot of people, moreso than any other issue I've run into."

Vrentas noted the Giants were always an unlikely option for Kaepernick but wrote, "The letters Mara received offer a league-wide glimpse into some of the unusual circumstances surrounding Kaepernick's job search."

In a since-deleted Instagram post, film director Spike Lee seemingly announced the Seattle Seahawks were in the process of finalizing a deal with Kaepernick when he wrote caption a thanking Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

The Seattle Times' Bob Condotta shot down the rumors, reporting no contract was in place and that Kaepernick had only met with the team.