Colin Kaepernick, who soared to mainstream media fame when he took a knee as the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, hasn’t thrown an NFL pass in five years.
And according to a new report, he might never throw another one.
Kaepernick worked out with the Las Vegas Raiders in May. How’d it go?
“I heard it was a disaster. I heard one of the worst workouts ever,” NFL Hall of Famer Warren Sapp said during an appearance on VladTV last week.
Kaepernick, who knelt during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, last played on Jan. 1, 2017, for the 49ers.
Sapp — a defensive tackle who played for 13 seasons before being inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2013 — questioned why no footage was released showing the free-agent quarterback’s workout. “I’m wondering how the hell this happened and the tape didn’t get out, right?” he said before declaring he doesn’t think it’s likely Kaepernick returns to the NFL.
Kaepernick’s agent was reportedly “surprised” over Sapp’s assessment. “I guess Warren didn’t talk to the General Manager [Dave Zieger] or the head coach [Josh McDaniels],” Jeff Nalley told Pro Football Talk, according to the New York Post. “I spoke to the GM several times and he said they all thought Kap was in great shape and threw the ball really well and encouraged any team to call him about the workout and he would tell them the same.”
But an “insider” with the NFL Network said last month that the workout “went well.” “On Colin Kaepernick’s workout with the #Raiders: Sounds like it went well and he impressed. The door is open…” Ian Rapoport wrote on Twitter.
On Colin Kaepernick’s workout with the #Raiders: Sounds like it went well and he impressed. The door is open…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 26, 2022
The 49ers picked Kaepernick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He led the team to Super Bowl 47 in 2012 but lost in a close game to the Baltimore Ravens. He stayed with the 49ers until they released him in March 2017, and no other team has picked him up since.
Kaepernick has stayed in the headlines since losing his NFL job. Over the Independence Day holiday in 2017, Kaepernick took to Twitter to protest celebrating the Fourth of July. In a minute-long video, Kaepernick was seen at the Cape Coast Castle, a former slave fort in Ghana. The footage also features the “Door Of No Return” at another slave outpost in Senegal. He questioned why African-Americans would celebrate the day when they were brought to America as slaves.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.