"But he was, and is, in the top half of starting NFL QBs. That's just a fact."

Well, if we get to make up our own facts, Broncos win the Super Bowl and TS is League MVP.

You can think whatever you want, but to be fair, I randomly picked a later season (2015).  In passing yardage, Kaep was 32 out of 40 qualified.  His passer rating was 31 out of 34.  If this translates to "top half" I really and truly want what you're having.  

Also, your description of his contract status is true as far as it goes.  It doesn't include what happened prior to all this.