The NFL’s effort to get former 49er quarterback-turned-political activist Colin Kaepernick back into the league may have paid off. ESPN reports that at least one team may be prepared to offer Kaepernick a deal — but only if he promises not to turn Sunday games into political protests.
The Daily Wire’s Amanda Prestagiacomo reported Tuesday that “[t]he NFL has organized a private workout for the famed anthem-kneeler on Saturday in Atlanta, and all NFL teams have been invited, a memo obtained by ESPN has revealed. The point of the workout is to help Kaepernick secure a position on one of the teams.”
Kaepernick settled with the NFL earlier this year, after filing a lawsuit against the league alleging that team owners and managers (and, allegedly, President Donald Trump) conspired to lock him out of a position with a new team after he turned down a one year contract extension from the San Francisco 49ers. Kaepernick, by then, had become famous less for his arm than for kneeling during patriotic pre-game festivities in protest of institutional racism.
Those protests earned him some cash from Nike, but, apparently, not enough to make a long-term career out of political activism. His agents reportedly approached the NFL asking for a new tryout, and they agreed, setting up Saturday’s workout and several NFL teams are reportedly planning to attend, including the New England Patriots, who are looking for a new backup quarterback.
ESPN says, though, that it’s likely there’s already an offer on the table for Kaepernick — perhaps at the behest of the league — and, as long as he doesn’t make trouble for himself, he’s back in the league.
“Only Colin Kaepernick can mess this up, it’s beyond all that other stuff now,” ESPN radio’s Golic and Wingo show tweeted Wednesday.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith elaborated on the “mess this up” phrase in an interview, according to Sports News; Kaepernick needs to keep his mouth shut about politics if he hopes to earn money playing football.
“There’s only two things that will prevent Colin Kaepernick from having a job in the NFL,” Smith told an audience at a panel this week. “That is one, if he shows up Saturday and can’t throw the ball on the damn football field, he’s throwing the ball in the stands. He’d have to be that God awful not to get a legitimate look and potentially have a job next week.”
“The other thing that could be a hindrance,” Smith continued, “is if he opens his damn mouth and starts talking too much, and scares these teams off and gives them the indication that more of what transpired, that led to all of this, will continue forward.”
“Only Colin Kaepernick can mess it up,” he added. “It’s beyond all of that other stuff now. He needs to shut up. No Instagram. No Twitter. No anything. Show up Saturday, work out. Don’t say a word before then.”
Unfortunately for Kaepernick, that may be a tall ask. And it’s a deal that’s been on the table before, at least according to a handful of team managers who approached Kaepernick right after he left the 49ers. John Elway claimed, in media reports last year, that he offered Kaepernick a position with the Denver Broncos if he dropped his political activism. The Ravens were also briefly interested in signing Kaepernick in 2017, according to NBC News, but backed out after Kaepernick’s girlfriend attacked former Raven’s linebacker Ray Lewis on Twitter.