The former Niners quarterback has been out of the league for six years
The Las Vegas Raiders will give a work out to quarterback Colin Kaepernick this week, according to a report by ESPN.
Colin Kaepernick, who last played football in 2016, the same year he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, is scheduled to work out this week for the Las Vegas Raiders, league sources told ESPN.
More on NFL Live now. pic.twitter.com/zAuWybhILx
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 25, 2022
NFL Media reported shortly after the ESPN report that Kaepernick’s workout is happening Wednesday.
The #Raiders are actually working out FA QB Colin Kaepernick today, source said. His first workout in years.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 25, 2022
Kaepernick last played in the NFL in 2016 with the San Francisco 49ers. He hasn’t had a private team workout in years. Although, he worked out for several teams last November in an open showcase and he has continued to work out with NFL players this offseason. Kaepernick will be 35 in November,
Last month, in a conversation about race and sports with veteran Bay Area journalist Monte Poole, Raiders owner Mark Davis said he would be open to signing Kaepernick. This is part of what Davis said in the interview: “I believe in Colin Kaepernick. He deserves every chance in the world to become a quarterback in the National Football League. I still stand by it. If our coaches and general manager want to bring him in, I would welcome him with open arms.”
In 2020, Davis told ESPN that it’s long been his policy to his football staff that he would welcome Kaepernick.
Almost two years ago, Raiders’ owner Mark Davis endorsed the addition of Colin Kaepernick, as @PGutierrezESPN noted. Now the Raiders themselves are taking a look. pic.twitter.com/xBWA7aJbsM
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 25, 2022
Kaepernick, of course, has been out of the league for the past six years after he led a civil movement, which including kneeling during the National Anthem in the game. It became a worldwide story that went beyond sports because it brought civil rights and the topic of police brutality to the forefront.
The Raiders currently have a crowded quarterback room. They signed Nick Mullens and traded for Jarrett Stidham (who played in New England for new Raiders’ head coach Josh McDaniels). They also signed undrafted free agent Chase Garbers. So, if signed, Kaepernick would have to prove himself in training camp and in the preseason after a prolonged layoff from the game.
There’s familiarity on the Raiders’ staff with Kaepernick, who played college football in Reno at Nevada. New offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi was on the 49ers’ staff in 2014.