Getty The New England Patriots did not attend Colin Kaepernick's workout after all.
The New England Patriots didn’t attend Colin Kaepernick’s workout after all.
After Kaepernick’s workout ended up being moved 60 miles from the original location of the Atlanta Falcons‘ training facility, the majority of the original revealed list of interested teams — 25 — didn’t even show up.
in fact, according to the latest reports from ESPN, just seven NFL teams sent representatives to Kaepernick’s workout on Saturday — and the Patriots were not one of them, as revealed by Vaugn McClure of ESPN.
“The change in venue interrupted schedules for many of the 25 teams that were scheduled to watch Kaepernick at the original site, but Kaepernick still threw in front of representatives from eight teams, according to Nalley, among them the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans.”
Kaepernick’s Workout Changed Destination and Time
The Patriots had intended to originally attend Kaepernick’s workout, but due to a disagreement between Kap’s representatives and the NFL regarding signing a waiver liability — along with the media availability — the workout was moved back an hour and instead took place on a high school football field rather than an NFL-owned one.
The NFL originally scheduled the workout to take place at the Falcons’ facility, but Kaepernick’s camp switched venues following a disagreement between the two sides on the quarterback’s liability waiver and media availability, among other factors.
The league said the waiver it sent Kaepernick’s representatives was based on those “used by National Invitational Camp at all NFL Combines and by NFL clubs when trying out free agent players.” An NFL source told ESPN that the waiver said the tryout isn’t a guarantee of employment, “to prevent a player from claiming entitlement to worker’s compensation if there was an injury.”
A statement from Nalley and Kaepernick’s attorney, Ben Meiselas, called that waiver “unusual” and said they proposed a “standard” liability waiver. The NFL called that proposed waiver “completely rewritten and insufficient.”
Long story short, what was supposed to be a day celebrating the possible return of Kaepernick quickly turned into a media disaster as it further painted the NFL in a negative light. The 32-year-old Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016 when he made national headlines regarding his kneeling during the national anthem as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
Kaepernick’s Agent: NFL Teams Have Zero Interest in Signing Kap
While we know the Patriots won’t be signing Kaepernick, what is the reported interest around the league? According to Kaepernick’s agent, Jeff Nalley, none of the 32 teams in the NFL had expressed interest in signing his client — which made the scheduled workout from the league seem entirely odd.
“I hope so, but I don’t know,” Nalley said. “I’ll be honest, I’m a little bit pessimistic because I’ve talked to all 32 teams. I’ve reached out to them recently, and none of them have had any interest. I’ll tell you this: No team asked for this workout. The league office asked for this workout.
Considering the season is more than halfway over, if Kaepernick does receive another shot in the NFL, this may have been an audition for 2020 rather than the remainder of this season.