Colin Kaepernick’s road back to the NFL could be laid out, and that road seems to be paved with the bodies of the quarterbacks fallen to injuries early this NFL season.
After a spate of serious injuries has blown a hole in the list of available backups, reports indicate that Kaepernick’s camp has been in contact with several NFL teams about a comeback. As Pro Football Talk reported, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has stayed in game-ready shape during his exile from the league and is now active in reaching out to those “quarterback-hungry teams” suffering injuries or other unexpected quarterback setbacks.
If Kaepernick does get the call, sources close to the quarterback say he’ll be ready to go.
“Colin is literally in the best shape of his life,” a source close to Kaepernick told SNY, via PFT. “He’s been working out five days a week at 5 a.m. for three years. He wants to play and his agent has been contacting teams in need of a quarterback.”
There could be a number of options for Colin Kaepernick. The Pittsburgh Steelers just lost Ben Roethlisberger for the season; the New Orleans Saints will be without Drew Brees for at least six weeks; the New York Jets lost Sam Darnold indefinitely to a bout with mono and then promptly lost backup Trevor Siemian to a season-ending injury on Monday night.
The free agent ranks had already been thinned by this point, as the Indianapolis Colts signed Brian Hoyer for help after Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement, and the Philadelphia Eagles brought Josh McCown out of retirement to replace backup Nate Sudfield.
The PFT report noted that there is no specific team with expressed interest in Kaepernick right now, but it’s not clear if that could change should any more injuries strike. Kaepernick’s backers have also become increasingly vocal in calling on teams to give him another chance in the NFL.
To the people that say Colin Kaepernick isn’t good enough for the NFL … @mspears96 reminds everyone just how valuable Kap was in the league. pic.twitter.com/jk2lzvw0gK
— First Take (@FirstTake) September 17, 2019
Colin Kaepernick has been out of the league since 2016 when he sparked controversy by taking a knee during the national anthem in protest of policy brutality against minorities. His actions turned into a league-wide protest, and Kaepernick eventually sued the NFL claiming that owners were colluding to keep him out of the league, a suit that the league ultimately settled for an undisclosed sum. As The Inquisitr reported, sources close to the league believe that Kaepernick received less than $10 million from the NFL.