According to a report, “multiple” NFL teams have recently shown interest in giving former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick a shot at returning to the league.
Kaepernick’s trainer, David Robinson, told TMZ that five NFL teams have reached out to the national anthem protester to gauge his interest in being offered a workout.
“A few teams have reached out to me and asked how his arm looked,” Robinson reportedly said. “They have reached out and asked about him.”
Though he would not identify these teams by name, Robinson insisted he told them he was impressed by Kaepernick’s physical condition and readiness to play. His throwing arm is “still a cannon,” Robinson claimed.
“He definitely has the ability to play on somebody’s roster — like, right now,” Robinson added. “Like, a couple of the guys that were in the session that were on NFL teams were saying that his arm is just as strong as guys’ that we got on our roster right now and can play.”
Robinson, who has also helped train Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown, added that he thinks these are serious inquiries.
“I definitely think that this go-around, he may get a shot,” he said.
Even if teams are genuinely “interested” in signing Kaepernick, it’s not that simple. NFL rules require teams to publicize the names of players they bring in for workouts. In other words, a team would have to know Kaepernick can play and know they were going to sign him if they brought him in. No team will risk incurring the controversy and backlash of bringing a player like Kaepernick onto their facility just to see if he can play.
Kaepernick spent the entirety of the 2016 season protesting against the U.S.A. during the playing of the national anthem, and at the end of that season, went free agent. But he has not found a team since 2017 to sign him, leading supporters to claim he was “blackballed” from the league over his anti-American protests.
The former player, though, has maintained that he has kept himself in top playing condition since 2017. And just two weeks ago, just ahead of the NFL’s free-agent period, had pushed out a video to social media showing him running drills. He captioned the videos, “Still working.”
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