Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, has been training like he will be playing for an NFL team. The star player has been a free agent since he opted out of his contract with the team in 2016. Sources, however, told TMZ Sports that Kaepernick has been “busting his a** as if he’ll be on an NFL roster in 2020.”
Colin Kaepernick Has Not Been on an NFL Roster Since 2016
The quarterback may have decided to opt-out of his contract, but he did not come to this decision by himself. 49ers general manager, John Lynch, has said that he told Kaepernick that if he didn’t opt out, he would be released.
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Kaepernick began protesting against police brutality and racism in 2016 by kneeling every time the national anthem was played before a game. Many other players too joined him in this fight for justice. However, NFL teams didn’t receive this very pleasantly. They believed that having Kaepernick on their roster would cause a loss in revenues.
In the wake of the ongoing protests over George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, many NFL players have shown support to Colin and have urged the NFL to bring him back. San Francisco 49ers coach, Kyle Shanahan said Kaepernick “deserves respect and admiration for starting the protest.” Even the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell admitted to having been “wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier.”
Still Training Like a Beast
According to TMZ Sports, the 32-year-old quarterback still hits the gym and the field daily. “He is in the best shape of his life,” a source close to Kaepernick said. Colin even held a workout in 2019 to show his skills to NFL teams, but wasn’t signed on.
Kaepernick thanks scouts from Washington, New York Jets and Kansas City and says: “When you go back, tell your owners to stop being scared.” pic.twitter.com/UMLSrIcn09
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) November 16, 2019
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Kaepernick and many others believe that he was ousted from the League because of his protests. He settled a lawsuit with the NFL last year, wherein Colin alleged that the league conspired to keep him out.
When asked what he thought of people perceiving the anthem protest as un-American, Colin said he didn’t “understand what’s un-American about fighting for liberty and justice for everybody... I see it as very patriotic and American to uphold the United States to the standards that it says it lives by.”
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So, with the ongoing call for justice and Kaepernick’s training, the only question that still remains unanswered is will we see him play this season?