If Colin Kaepernick’s employment watch had a DEFCON level, it might have just gone from 5 to 4. Maybe 3, but no more than that.

The Baltimore Ravens recently learned that quarterback Joe Flacco will miss the next 3-6 weeks with a back injury. What does this have to do with Kaepernick?

Well, John Harbaugh is of course the brother of Jim Harbaugh, who drafted and coached Kaepernick in San Francisco. Greg Roman, an offensive assistant in Baltimore, was Kaepernick’s offensive coordinator in San Francisco.

When asked whether Kaepernick might be one of the quarterbacks the team would consider signing, Head Coach John Harbaugh was open to the idea. According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, Harbaugh said, “depends on what Kaepernick wants to do.”

Meaning, that though the Ravens are clearly open to signing Kaepernick, they’re not going to just pay him whatever he wants. So if Kaepernick wants a job, he’ll have to take what the Ravens are offering.

In many ways, this will be a great test of Kaepernick’s desire to play football again. Camps have begun and opportunities to catch on with new teams won’t come easy. If he turns his back on a chance to play for coaches who know and like him, in a system that he enjoyed tremendous success in regardless of the money, that will go a long way towards showing how much Kaepernick wants to play football.