Teams in the NFL did not have any intentions of signing Colin Kaepernick. According to a report by Pro Football Talk, teams only showed interest in Kaepernick as a media ploy.
Following the death of George Floyd, the NFL began to speak out against racial injustice and appeared to make an effort to provide funding and support. The league announced that it would pledge $250 million to combat systemic racism.
Moreover, several reports claimed that NFL teams were interested in signing Kaepernick and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted that the league was wrong to ostracize him for his silent protest.
However, with one week remaining until the start of the 2020 NFL season, Kaepernick remains unsigned.
In 2016, Kaepernick, while with the San Francisco 49ers, began kneeling during the national anthem as a silent protest against racial injustice. However, his silent protest exploded in a media frenzy after the current president of the United States decided to call out Kaepernick and other Black NFL players who joined protest.
Although his football numbers were exceptional, Kaepernick remained out of the league following the 2016 season.
In November 2019, 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 at the time.
Kaepernick’s legal team has said that the NFL attempted to have the embattled quarterback sign a waiver that could have possibly prevented a future lawsuit against the organization.
After his workout, Kaepernick spoke to reporters and said, “I’ve been ready for three years. I’ve been denied for three years. We all know why I came out here. I showed it today in front of everybody. So we’re waiting for the 32 owners, 32 teams, Roger Goodell, all of them to stop running. Stop running from the people.”
