Seven years after his last NFL game, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick still hasn't given up on returning to the league. He has earned worldwide admiration and, at times, scorn, for “taking a knee” during the national anthem in his last two seasons with the 49ers. Over time, several players in different leagues joined him as they knelt during the Star-Spangled Banner as a protest against police brutality and racial injustice.
During his recent stay in London, Sky Sports caught up with Kaepernick where he answered a lot of questions, including his desire to return to the NFL.
“We're still training, still pushing, so hopefully, we just got to get one of these team owners to open up,” Kaep said when asked about whether fans will see him in the league again. “It's something I've trained my whole life for, so to be able to step back on the field, I think that'll be a major moment, a major accomplishment for me. Also, I think it's something that I can bring a lot to a team and help win a championship.”
Colin Kaepernick's potential NFL return
In May 2022, the ex-49ers QB had a workout with the Las Vegas Raiders in one of his many attempts to make an NFL comeback. Previously, he also threw in front of Michigan fans and his former head coach Jim Harbaugh during a public workout at halftime of a Wolverines spring game.
Moreover, Kaepernick also wrote to the Jets in 2023 where he outlined the many ways he could have helped the team after Aaron Rodgers' season-ending Achilles tear. In the letter, he even expressed his willingness to play in the team's practice squad to allow the team where he was, skills-wise, at this point of his career.
However, the Raiders passed on the 36-year-old Kaepernick, and since then he has yet to step foot on the field with any NFL team. Still, if he does manage to convince a team to take a chance on him again, he would prove himself correct in that it would be a tremendous accomplishment.
It wasn't as if he was a bust, either. For instance, even current NFL stars Najee Harris and CeeDee Lamb praised Kaepernick during workouts with him.
The 49ers' second-round draft pick made his first full start in 2013 and led the team to a stellar 12-4 record. He also led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII, though they lost to the Baltimore Ravens. During their playoff run, Kaepernick rushed for 181 yards and had two touchdowns to beat the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round.
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