Colin Kaepernick continued to make headlines on the day of his highly anticipated workout in front of NFL scouts. Initially, Kaepernick was scheduled to hold a private workout and interview session with multiple NFL teams at the Atlanta Falcons facility in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
However, Kaepernick changed the location of the workout hours before it was set to begin. Instead of Flowery Branch, Kaepernick decided to work out at a high school nearly an hour away from the Falcons’ training facility. The move upset NFL officials.
“We are disappointed that Colin did not appear for his workout,” the NFL said in a statement. “He informed us of that decision at 2:30 pm today along with the public. Today’s session was designed to give Colin what he has consistently said he wants – an opportunity to show his football readiness and desire to return to the NFL. Twenty-five clubs were present for the workout, and all 32 clubs, their head coaches, general managers, and other personnel executives would have received video footage of the interview and workout, shot by the Atlanta Falcons video crew. It is important to note the following.”
The NFL continued by saying, “The NFL made considerable effort to work cooperatively with Colin’s representatives. We invited his agent to suggest questions for the interview. Yesterday, when Colin’s representatives said he wanted to bring his own receivers to the workout, we agreed to the request. In addition, Coach Hue Jackson discussed with Colin’s agent what drills would be run at the workout so that Colin would know what would be expected of him….We heard for the first time last night, around the same time we heard from Nike, that Colin wanted to bring his own video crew. We heard for the first time this afternoon that Colin wanted to open the event to all media.
“We agreed to have Colin’s representatives on the field while the workout was being conducted and to allow them to see how it was being recorded. We did so even though we have been clear from the beginning that this is a private workout. As is typical with NFL Combines, one video crew was prepared to shoot and distribute video of the interview and workout. We confirmed with Colin’s representatives that they would receive both the video that would be sent to all 32 clubs as well as the raw footage from the entire event, which is unprecedented.”
The NFL ended by stating that Kaepernick is still eligible to sign with any team. “Colin’s decision has no effect on his status in the League. He remains an unrestricted free agent eligible to sign with any club.”
