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It’s been two weeks since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had his workout with the Las Vegas Raiders.
While reports were that Kaepernick’s workout went well, the quarterback who once took the ‘Niners to Super Bowl 47 and the NFC Championship game in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, respectively, still remains unsigned.
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There are critics who still believe Kaepernick would be a polarizing figure inside the locker room, given his stance on protesting the National Anthem to bring awareness to police brutality in America by kneeling as the anthem played. Kaepernick hasn’t been on an active NFL roster since 2016.
Plus, at the age of 34 and nearly six seasons away from the NFL, many will wonder if Kaepernick would feel rusty. There’s also this question: Would a team with an established veteran Pro Bowler accept him with open arms?
Well, one AFC Pro Bowl quarterback answered that question on Tuesday, June 7.
‘I Think He’d get Along Just Fine With Our Guys’
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr broke his silence on the franchise giving the Ex-49ers QB a tryout, addressing that topic to the Vegas media following a mandatory minicamp practice.
Does Carr believe he and the Raiders would welcome Kaepernick in?
“For us, I think it’d be great,” Carr said. “I don’t want to speak for everybody. I know him and I would get along great. I know we have in the past, and I think we would again. I think, for the most part, I think he’d get along just fine with our guys.”
🔴🎥 Live: Head Coach Josh McDaniels, Derek Carr, Darren Waller and Johnathan Abram address the media live from the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in Henderson.
Kaepernick & Carr Have Long History
While the two quarterbacks have only shared the NFL field once — which was a 24-13 Raiders win in Oakland on December 7, 2014 — Kaepernick and Carr do have a lengthy history.
Both were star quarterbacks in the Western Athletic Conference, with Kaepernick starring at Nevada from 2007 to 2010. Carr played at Fresno State from 2009 to 2013, which included spending his last two collegiate years in the Mountain West Conference. And Kaepernick’s Wolf Pack teams got the better end of Carr’s Bulldogs from 2008 to 2010.
Carr, though, says he’s maintained a solid relationship with Kaepernick since the college football years.
“Well, I know Colin,” Carr told the media. “I’ve known Colin since our days playing in the WAC conference, which is no longer a thing. My gray hairs may start to make a point for that. I remember our days back then, just watching him and what he did in college and getting to know him and talking to him on the phone and things like that.
“I’ve loved my time with him. I think he’s a great guy. He’s been great to be around him,” Carr continued. “I’ve enjoyed being around him, talking with him, competing against him. Josh [McDaniels] told him they were doing it and all that kind of stuff. I literally said the same thing I’m telling you: I was like, ‘I’ve enjoyed my time around him. I love him. Him and I would get along great.’”
Turns out there’s another Carr with familiarity with the Ex-49er: Another past 49ers QB in Derek’s older brother and NFL Network analyst David.
“My brother [David] knew him a little bit from San Francisco. He’s like, ‘I love Colin. He’s awesome.’” Carr said. “I think Colin would just have to answer more questions than all of us would have to: ‘Why hasn’t it happened? Why this? Why that?’ But for me, it would have been just fine. I enjoyed my time with him.”
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Pro Bowl QB Answers if He’d Welcome Colin Kaepernick