With several NFL teams looking to fill their quarterback position, someone who is making teams know he's ready to play is former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
On Thursday, Kaepernick took to Twitter to post a video of him taking a dropback and throwing the ball with the caption, "Still working."
Still Working pic.twitter.com/ezBzWf6bUI
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) March 10, 2022
After the video was posted, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that a source told him that Kaepernick is “in the best shape of his life. He wants to play. He’s ready [to] play."
Kaepernick last played in the NFL since 2016. Despite leading the team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2013, no one signed him, and he entered free agency.
It seems teams have been wary of signing him after he drew national attention when he began kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest police brutality and racial inequality.
The protests turned political, with President Donald Trump calling on players to stand for the anthem. Trump has since changed his tune, saying in June 2020 that he would support teams signing Kaepernick.
In 2017, Kaepernick filed a lawsuit against the league, alleging teams colluded to keep him off the field due to his protest. In 2019, the league and Kaepernick reached an agreement, allegedly receiving less than $10 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
With the lawsuit behind them, it seems the mood between the two parties has lightened. In June 2020, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell publically encouraged teams to sign Kaepernick.
In February, Goodell told reporters that the former player "deserves recognition and appreciation" for bringing up concerns about social justice and racism."
He pubically apologized to Kaepernick last June for not listening to him enough and taking his concerns more seriously.
