Getty Former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick.
It has now been six years since Colin Kaepernick was on an NFL roster. After he left the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, the veteran quarterback was not able to land with a team. He has made many attempts at an NFL comeback, but nobody has given him a chance.
Last offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders gave him his best chance at a return yet when they brought him in for a workout on May 25, 2022, but he left without a contract. Though that workout didn’t lead to any other interest around the league, Kaepernick is still hard at work trying to make a comeback. He hasn’t spoken out about the Raiders workout before, but he had a chance to discuss it in an interview with Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated.
“I’m going to keep pushing,” Kaepernick said. “I’m going to keep fighting for it because I know I can step on the field and play. Every workout, every opportunity I’ve had to show that, the feedback has always been positive. Everything from, ‘He’s still an elite player,’ to ‘The workout was great; it was better than expected.’
“When I had my workout with the Raiders last year, even training with guys, there’s a decent amount of people who may have forgotten what I was capable of doing on the field, so any chance to be able to remind people of what I can do out there, I look forward to and embrace, and I look forward to the day that I get to step on the field and show people what I can do.”
Why Didn’t the Las Vegas Raiders Sign Colin Kaepernick?
Derek Carr was the unquestioned starting quarterback for the Raiders last season so Colin Kaepernick was working out for a potential backup role. At the time, the team had Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens as the projected backups. However, the team only kept Stidham on the active roster and traded Mullens to the Minnesota Vikings.
Stidham was very familiar with Josh Mcdaniels‘ offense, which would’ve made it difficult for Kaepernick to unseat him as the primary backup. However, the former 49ers quarterback believes there was more to him not getting signed than just football reasons.
“I’ve heard a lot of excuses over the years,” Kaepernick said, “but most of the time it ends up, ‘Oh, we’re going to see how the guys that we have do.’ With the Raiders’ situation last year, that was Stidham and Nick Mullens, which to me, you just compare résumés and capabilities, on top of the workout and the feedback, it’s like, ‘O.K., cool.’
“Obviously, there’s something else within this decision. To me, that’s typically what it ends up being, or has been for the last seven years. So, I just want the opportunity to come in, show what I can do on the field. Judge me based upon that, not the political bias that you have.”
Colin Kaepernick is still looking for his second chance in the NFL.
Will Colin Kaepernick After Make Return to the NFL?
Colin Kaepernick is fighting an uphill battle. His last season with the 49ers in 2016 saw him throw for 16 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Those are numbers that many backups wouldn’t be able to get in the NFL. However, that was seven years ago and he hasn’t been on an NFL field since.
Kaepernick is 35 now and his window for a return could be closing. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer on May 30, 2022, that while he didn’t “blow everyone away” at his workout with the Raiders last year, he was in shape at the time and displayed plenty of arm strength.