The Return of Kaepernick?
Colin Kaepernick will be holding an open workout to be attended NFL coaches in Atlanta this Saturday. This could mean many things. Some people don’t think he’s still good enough for the NFL, but many coaches are supposedly going to attend his “tryout” this weekend, and he could maybe even get called up to a team as a second-string quarterback or maybe even a starter. At least 13 teams including the Steelers, Dolphins, Bengals, and Falcons will be sending coaches to scout him this weekend. The leader of the workout on Saturday is former Browns coach Hue Jackson. There is a good chance that he’ll be signed, and he is ready, saying that he’s been, “ready for this for 3 years,” and that he's “been in shape.” At 32-years-old, this could be his last chance to get back into the NFL, so the pressure is on for him to perform well.
From 2013 to 2016, Colin Kaepernick was an elite quarterback, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl. However, in 2016, Colin Kapernick began taking a stand for the “Black Lives Matter” movement by kneeling during the national anthem before every game to protest police brutality and racial injustice. While doing this, he got the most backlash any individual player has gotten in recent years, with people saying he was disrespecting the country and the military. He continued to take a stand despite the backlash, and even though many of his teammates supported him, he lost his playing opportunity in the NFL because of it. In the past few years, there have been rumors about him getting signed by another team and while he has said that he would like to, he hasn’t been offered a contract yet. The issue was never about Kaepernick’s talent, it was about his activism; and at one point, an anonymous NFL executive even called Kaepernick a “traitor.” A few years after he left the league, the NFL made rules that would cause players to be fined for kneeling during the national anthem. Kaepernick truly sparked a movement that made a big impact for years to come.
The workout for Kaepernick on Saturday is being organized by the NFL, which is causing controversy and sparking bigger questions like: Did the NFL change their mind about Kaepernick? Are they trying to get him back in the league for attention or popularity? And, despite the NFL disagreeing and not supporting Kaepernick in his tough times, why are they now supporting him and giving him another chance?
Players who supported Kaepernick’s kneeling have spoken out, specifically Eric Reid, a safety on the Carolina Panthers. On Wednesday, he said, “At this point, it feels like a PR stunt...I'll believe it when I see it.” He feels that the NFL isn’t ready to fully support Kaepernick and is doing this for their benefit, not his. . Even though he might be right, Kaepernick is still finally getting the opportunity that he deserves, and fans can only hope that he can make the best of it.
By Ellis Balser