Colin Kaepernick faces an ever-narrowing path back to the NFL, despite how there are multiple teams that have faced desperate quarterback situations, a columnist says.
Writing for Forbes , Mike Reimer called out the league over what he saw as hypocrisy in its treatment of the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback. He noted that the Monday Night Football broadcast this week praised his social advocacy, while commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier in the year that the league was wrong in its reaction to the social justice protests that Kaepernick sparked.
But despite the contrite words, teams have not offered Kaepernick a chance to return to the league, Reimer noted. Now out of the sport since 2016, Kaepernick will likely not get another chance despite the quarterback needs of certain teams, he wrote.
“Despite a rash of quarterback injuries this season, not a single team has reportedly brought Kaepernick in for a workout. There have been desperate situations, too: The Dallas Cowboys were left to start rookie seventh-round pick Ben DiNucci in Week 8; the Denver Broncos started rookie receiver Kendall Hilton in Week 12 while all of their quarterbacks were in quarantine,” he wrote.
“The Cincinnati Bengals chose to ride with Brandon Allen and Ryan Finley after Joe Burrow had torn his ACL.”
Kaepernick would face additional roadblocks in the coronavirus-impacted season. As NFL.com noted, there is a six-day COVID-19 entry testing process for free agents, meaning he would be unable to fill an immediate need. That would rule him out from being plucked out of free agency for emergency situations, like the one the Broncos faced after losing all the signal-callers on the active roster and practice squad.
Despite the challenges, Kaepernick reportedly remains ready to jump back into the NFL if a team comes calling. According to Sporting News , he has continued to train and last month, he posted a video showing him going through a workout with former 49ers teammate Eric Reid, who is also a free agent looking for a return to football. He also held a public workout, earning some good marks for his strong arm.
Kaepernick’s supporters have been vocal about his return. As The Inquisitr reported, many of them took to social media to offer his name as an option when some clubs were facing vacancies, some of them dire. Despite his preparations to come back and the enthusiasm of fans, there is no indication that any of the clubs with openings at signal-caller have given any serious consideration to Kaepernick.