Prior to making his 2016 preseason debut as the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick made front-page news before the start of the game. The sight of Kaepernick sitting on the bench during the national anthem overshadowed the practice game between San Francisco and Green Bay.
“I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick stated during the postgame interview. After sitting during the anthem for his second preseason game, Kaepernick had a conversation with former NFL player and U.S. military veteran Nate Boyer. The aforementioned Army Green Beret convinced Kaepernick to alter his protest. Instead of sitting during the anthem, Kaepernick agreed to kneel to show respect to former and current U.S. military members. Despite the change in his silent protest for social injustices, Kaepernick received negative press as some made the claim he was disrespecting the flag and the military. Led by Kaepernick and 49er teammate Eric Reid, kneeling and other forms of silent protest in reference to the national anthem became the narrative of the 2016 NFL season.
At the conclusion of the season, Kaepernick opted out of his deal with the 49ers and became a free agent once he found out the team planned on releasing him. With a resume that includes being the originator of the silent anthem protest, none of the other 31 teams were interested in signing Kaepernick.
In 2017 forty-two quarterbacks signed contracts with NFL teams. None of these quarterbacks had the name Kaepernick. Suspicion grew as many of the quarterbacks who signed contracts with NFLÂ teams were lower prospects. The skepticism of Kaepernick being blackballed transitioned to the obvious during the 2018 season. Four teams who lost their starting quarterbacks to injury or poor performance elected to sign quarterbacks known to have a history of struggling. The most alarming snub Kaepernick received occurred when the Washington Redskins signed Josh Johnson, a quarterback who last played in 2013. Not including draft picks or players who re-signed with their teams, a total of 115 quarterbacks signed NFL contracts since Kaepernick became a free agent.
As the 2019 NFL season started, Kaepernick informed the league and the general public that he was in shape, and ready to play. Once again the injury bug hit teams around the league at the quarterback position. For the third year in a row, all the teams chose to go in another direction. On Tuesday, November 12th, the NFL informed teams they will be holding a private workout for Kaepernick. The workout was scheduled for November 16th at the Atlanta Falcons’ practice facility. Twenty-five NFL teams committed to viewing his workout and the other league teams would view the video of the workout session.
It seemed like the free-agent quarterback and the NFL finally made peace and as a sign of peace, Colin Kaepernick would receive a legitimate opportunity to make his return to the NFL. All of a sudden news leaked that the workout would start an hour later and it would be held at a different location. Originally scheduled to be held at the Falcons’ practice facility, the new location was a high school stadium in Riverdale, Ga. Some of the decisions the NFL made sparked Kaepernick’s decision to change the location. The difficulties started when the free-agent quarterback was asked to sign a complex waiver. He was prepared to sign a normal Pro Day injury waiver. The NFL requested he sign a more complex waiver with clauses about non-guarantees of employment.
Kaepernick and his camp wanted to tape the workout and have the ability to release it to NFL teams because they didn’t trust the NFL being the only one with the video footage. The NFL refused to allow his camp to tape the workout. The fear they had was that the NFL might edit the video showing only his worst throws. Colin Kaepernick asked that the media be allowed access to view the workout, and the NFL denied the request.Due to the disconnect in various areas, the Kaepernick crew began preparing an alternate plan. On Saturday, November 16th, Kaepernick’s team hosted their own workout at Charles Drew High School in Riverdale, Ga. Representatives from seven NFL teams attended the workout. Wearing a black Kunta Kinte t-shirt, Kaepernick threw the ball well. He showed his arm strength on deep throws, and his mobility when he had to perform rollout and play-action passes. NFL scouts were impressed with his arm strength. After the workout, Kaepernick thanked the scouts, media, and fans for attending. He let them know he’s been ready for three years.
The Kaepernick team made a quick turnaround of the workout video footage. It was out 24 hours after the workout concluded. The Saturday workout was sent to all 32 NFL clubs. Jay Z spoke on his disappointment with how everything developed. “Colin turned a legitimate workout into a publicity stunt,” Jay Z stated.
It didn’t go as originally planned, but the workout took place. NFL reps, media, and fans received the opportunity to give Colin Kaepernick’s football ability the eye test. The video footage is currently in the hands of the decision-makers, and now it’s time to play the waiting game.
