REPORT: Colin Kaepernick set to workout with Raiders in bid to make NFL return
Colin Kaepernick had said that he would accept a backup role in the NFL, and he appears to have found a franchise that is willing to accommodate him.
The Las Vegas Raiders, who struck a deal with the New England Patriots for Jarrett Stidham this offseason, are looking for the ideal emergency backup in case Derek Carr were to go down with an injury.
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.
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ESPN's Adam Schefter alluded to Mark Davis' interest in moving civil rights causes forward as the son of a longtime Bay Area owner in Al Davis who prided himself on his own progressivism.
"Kaepernick played at the University of Nevada, Reno, which was the only school to offer him a scholarship, and now the pro team in Nevada is the only one in the NFL that is open to giving the civil rights activist another opportunity. Raiders owner Mark Davis is following in the spirit of his late father Al Davis, who was active in civil rights. Al Davis became the first NFL owner in the modern era to hire a Black head coach in Art Shell, a female chief executive in Amy Trask, and also became the second NFL owner to hire a Latino head coach in Tom Flores."
Colin Kaepernick has long been critical of the NFL for blackballing him
#Raiders owner Mark Davis last month: “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."
This workout has been a long time coming for the former San Fancisco 49ers second-round pick. Colin Kaepernick has been waiting for any team to give him an opportunity since the 2016 season, one in which, he acknowledges, he was a positive contributor.
"That 2016 season, my last year, my teammates voted me most courageous and inspirational player. So, when you're talking about the people that are in the building, that has never come out that I've been a distraction. That's never come out that I've been an issue for the people I've played with."
During that interview, he practically begged for a chance to show the world that he can still contribute to an NFL franchise, even after five years of sitting on the sidelines.
"If you're talking about the playing side, come in, let me compete. You can evaluate me from there. The NFL's supposed to be a meritocracy. Come in, let me compete. If I'm not good enough, get rid of me. But let me come in and show you."
Colin Kaepernick now has that chance to show all 32 teams what they have been missing this last half decade.