Super Bowl quarterback Colin Kaepernick has not suited up in an NFL game in almost five years. The former San Francisco 49ers star claims he was blackballed by the league for initiating the now-infamous National Anthem protests back in the summer of 2016.
Despite being on the verge of turning 34 and without much interest from NFL teams, Kaepernick is indicating that he’s still aiming to make an NFL comeback. In the process, he’s calling out those he believes have colluded to keep him out of the game.
“You’re gonna have to continue to deny me and do so in a public way,” Kaepernick said. “And you’re gonna expose yourself by that, but it won’t be because I’m not ready or not prepared.”
Colin Kaepernick back in the headlines
This interview comes with “Colin in Black & White,” a NetFlix limited series on the quarterback’s youth, set to premiere later in October.
It also comes with Kaepernick finding himself in the news again following the shocking resignation of Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Among other things, Gruden called out national anthem protesters in a string of emails that included misogyny, homophobia and racism on the part of Gruden.
For some, this reaffirmed the belief that Kaepernick was in fact blackballed by the NFL nearly a half-decade ago.
The possibility of Colin Kaepernick getting another chance remains extremely limited. However, his on-field performance speaks for itself.
In his final season with San Francisco, the former second-round pick tallied 14 total touchdowns against four interceptions. Over the course of his seven-year career, Kaepernick put up 85 total touchdowns and just 30 interceptions, leading San Francisco to the Super Bowl as a first-year starter back in 2012.