Colin Kaepernick hopes door is open for NFL return

Colin Kaepernick passes during halftime at the Michigan spring game at Michigan Stadium. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Colin Kaepernick: I'm 'just looking for an opportunity for a door to open' in NFL

By Adam Stites | Last updated 4/2/22

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick hasn't played an NFL game since the 2016 season ended, but he hoped to prove Saturday that he still has what it takes. At a public workout during halftime of the University of Michigan's spring game, Kaepernick did a 15-minute throwing session that was broadcast live on Big Ten Network.

"I can help make you a better team, I can help you win games," Kaepernick said in a message to NFL teams during an interview with Jeanna Trotman of WXYZ Detroit. "I know right now the situation likely won't allow me to come in, step into a starting role. I know I'll be able to work my way to that though and show that very quickly."

I spoke with Colin Kaepernick on the sideline after his throwing exhibition at Michigan.

He said he can absolutely still play in the NFL. I asked what is your message to NFL teams: "I can help make you a better team. I can help you win games." pic.twitter.com/rUQTG562D7
— Jeanna Trotman (@JeannaTrotmanTV) April 2, 2022

Kaepernick, 34, played six seasons with the 49ers and threw 72 touchdown passes with 30 interceptions and another 13 rushing scores. During his time as San Francisco's starter, the team reached Super Bowl XLVII and made back-to-back trips to the NFC Championship Game.

In 2016, he became the center of a polarized, political debate when he decided to sit and later kneel during the playing of the national anthem as a way to protest racial injustice and police brutality. He became a free agent in 2017 and was unsigned, despite finishing 2016 with 16 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He later filed a grievance against NFL owners alleging they colluded to keep him out of the league. The case was settled in 2019 for an undisclosed sum.

"One of the questions that my agent kept getting was, 'Well, it's been five years, can he still play?'" Kaepernick told Trotman on Saturday. "So we wanted to make sure that we come out, we show everyone I could still play, still throw it, and really just looking for an opportunity for a door to open, to have that be a pathway to be able to get back in there, get a starting job and lead a team to a championship."

In March, Kaepernick spent time working out with Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett.

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