Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll has admitted that he spoke to national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick and insists that the ex-NFL player “deserves a second chance” at playing pro ball.
Kaepernick was the primary influence in the anti-American protests that ripped through the NFL in 2016 when he was a second-string quarterback for the 49ers that season. But after he turned free agent in 2017, he was unable to find a team to sign him, and he has sat on the sidelines ever since, despite claiming that he has maintained his physical condition and is ready to make a comeback.
On Wednesday, coach Carroll told the media that Kaepernick reached out to him for a conversation about returning to the gridiron. And Carroll added that he thinks Kaepernick is worth considering, Pro Football Talk reported.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
“I thought about another guy,” Carroll admitted. “You can ask questions about Colin Kaepernick. I know. You’re going to ask me, so let me just put it out there. He contacted me the other day. Said, ‘Hey, I’d like to get a shot. I’m working out.’ He sent me some videos. Next thing I know, he’s working out with Tyler Lockett. I don’t know how that happened.
“Does that guy deserve a second shot? I think he does. Somewhere. I don’t know if it’s here. I don’t know where it is. I don’t know if it’s even in football. I don’t know,” Carroll continued. “People get a second opportunity in their lifetime … and they can make the most of it if they’re ready for it. I don’t mean to send out any mixed messages about that. But I wanted you to understand that that’s how serious this is. It’s second chance time.”
Last week, Kaepernick posted a video of a quarterback drill he ran. He captioned the post “still working” as a signal that he is still in playing condition.
Some, though, don’t feel that Kaepernick is serious about returning to the league, and they point to the special workout session that the league planned just for him in 2019 that turned into a circus. After initially agreeing to the specially arranged workout, Kaepernick then shunned the league’s olive branch and sponsored a show of his own. He even absurdly wore a t-shirt, alluding to his claim that players are “slaves” to the NFL during the private workout he planned after ditching the NFL’s event. Unsurprisingly, no team offered him a shot at returning to the game.
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