Getty SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 05: Tyler Lockett #16 of the Seattle Seahawks reacts after beating the San Francisco 49ers 30-23 at Lumen Field on December 05, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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yler Lockett was in just his second season with the Seattle Seahawks the last time Colin Kaepernick played in an NFL game. But Kaepernick hasn’t given up his dream of playing in the NFL again.
Lockett doesn’t think Kaepernick should give up either.
The Seahawks wide receiver quote tweeted Kaepernick’s workout video from March 10 where the former NFL quarterback is practicing his footwork and throwing a pass. In his tweet, Lockett shared words of encouragement for Kaepernick.
“Never give up bro! Keep chasing your dreams!”
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Colin Kaepernick Tweets Workout Video
Kaepernick went viral with his original workout video tweet. The video came just a day after the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts dealt Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders.
Seattle and Indianapolis, along with other teams such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, and Carolina Panthers, are searching for upgrades behind center. Even if five quarterbacks come off the board in the first round of the NFL Draft, as some mock drafts have speculated, there could be openings for Kaepernick on an NFL roster.
NFL Insider Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on March 10 that a source told him Kaepernick is “in the best shape of his life.”
Assuming that source to be correct, Kaepernick still hasn’t played an NFL game in five years. He posted a 1-10 record while completing 59.2% of his passes for 6.8 yards per pass, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions for the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.
The quarterback, who turns 35 in November, also rushed for 468 yards, while averaging a career-high 6.8 yards per carry, and two touchdowns in 2016.
Kaepernick’s final NFL game was against the Seahawks on Jan. 1, 2017. Lockett didn’t dress in that contest, but he posted nine receptions, 127 receiving yards and three touchdowns in two games against Kaepernick and the 49ers in 2015.
Seahawks Linked to Colin Kaepernick
Seattle was the first team to show interest in Kaepernick and invited him for a workout following the 2016 season. The Athletic‘s Michael-Shawn Dugar brought attention to Seattle’s interest in Kaepernick a few years ago by retweeting the quarterback’s workout video with a 2017 quote from Pete Carroll.
“‘He’s a starter in this league, and we have a starter’ – 2017 Pete Carroll, who no longer has a starting QB,” Dugar tweeted.
With Drew Lock the Seahawks projected starter behind center at the moment, it would not be shocking to see Seattle take a flier on Kaepernick or at least bring in the quarterback for a tryout. But Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times called that “unlikely.”
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk agreed in an article on March 10.
“It’s over for Colin Kaepernick,” Florio wrote. “There’s no way that any team will sign him at this point, not after he has gone half a decade without playing football of any kind.
“Yes, he posted a workout video on Thursday. Sure, Schefty [Adam Schefter) quoted an anonymous source who says Kaepernick is in the best shape of his life. (It’s unclear why anonymity is needed for that specific piece of information; it’s hardly a state secret.) It’s still not happening.”
Florio added NFL teams won’t risk adding a quarterback who hasn’t played in five years at the expense of alienating a big portion of their fan base. Then he addressed the Seahawks specifically.
“The Seahawks were the only team to bring Kaepernick in for a visit,” Florio wrote. “They opted not to add Kaepernick to a depth chart led by Russell Wilson, possibly because the team that supposedly embraces competition didn’t want Wilson to have any. Now that Wilson is gone, there’s no impediment to signing Kaepernick.
“They won’t. It’s been too long. It’s over.”
But as the “realists” voice their opinions about why Kaepernick will never play in the NFL again, fans can expect the quarterback’s supporters such as Lockett to support him just as loudly.