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Colin Kaepernick to throw passes for scouts at halftime of Michigan spring game

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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In addition to serving as an honorary captain for Michigan football’s spring game Saturday, Colin Kaepernick will stage a throwing exhibition at halftime.
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who has been out of the NFL since the end of the 2016 season, has been making renewed efforts to show teams he is ready for another chance. As noted by Michigan football radio announcer Doug Karsch, who helped break the news Thursday morning of Kaepernick’s halftime workout, there will probably be NFL scouts in attendance at Michigan Stadium for the annual Maize and Blue game.

“He is going around, throwing at places to try to stay on the radar,” Karsch said on his podcast of the 34-year-old Kaepernick.

A spokesman for Wolverines football confirmed reports that Kaepernick’s throwing exhibition will be sponsored by a campus group named Wolverines Against Racism. Catching his passes will be a mix of free agent and retired wide receivers.






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Kaepernick “will be interacting with both teams (Maize and Blue) on game day and is spending time with our team and staff over the next few days,” the spokesman said via email.
Michigan football revealed Wednesday that it was making Kaepernick, who spoke with players that day, an honorary captain for Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage. Wolverines Coach Jim Harbaugh coached the 49ers during Kaepernick’s first four NFL seasons, including a 2012 campaign that saw the quarterback start in the Super Bowl and nearly lead San Francisco to a comeback win against the Baltimore Ravens.

Kaepernick tweeted Thursday that he had been “workin'” at Michigan this week, following a throwing session at UCLA last week, and that he appreciated the “warm welcome” he got in Ann Arbor. With the tweet, he shared footage of himself tossing passes at UCLA.







Earlier in March, Kaepernick put a call out on Twitter for professional pass-catchers to help him stay sharp.
“For The past 5 years I’ve been working out and staying ready in case an opportunity to play presented itself,” he wrote. “I’m really grateful to my trainer, who I’ve been throwing to all this time. But man, do I miss throwing to professional route runners.”
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett quickly responded and Kaepernick tweeted that the two had a workout the next day. Lockett replied online that “Kap is ready” to contribute to a team. The quarterback indicated he was also going to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta to throw to interested receivers, and he shared footage from a session at a New Orleans high school field that included Saints wide receiver Jalen McCleskey. Last week, Kaepernick worked out at the University of Washington before heading south to UCLA.

In November 2019, Kaepernick held a workout before NFL scouts and others at an Atlanta-area high school. It had been initially coordinated with the league to take place at the Falcons’ training complex, but Kaepernick and his camp objected to a liability waiver they said the NFL wanted him to sign, and they moved the session to a nearby high school. That cast something of a cloud over the event, and the apparent lack of any ensuing interest from NFL teams continued his years-long ostracization.







Just 29 during his final season with the 49ers, Kaepernick posted a 1-10 record as a starter while the team went 2-14 overall under then-coach Chip Kelly, and his 59.2 completion percentage was in line with the slightly subpar accuracy he showed through most of his NFL career. However, Kaepernick notched some more impressive numbers in that 2016 campaign, including 16 touchdown passes to just four interceptions, a 90.7 passer rating and 468 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
The elephant in the room, of course, was Kaepernick’s status as the originator of NFL player protests against racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. The widespread perception is that he was blackballed for his activism, although some posit that his inconsistencies as a quarterback, along with the flood of attention he would probably bring any team that signed him, were at least as much to blame. In February 2019, Kaepernick reached a settlement with the NFL of a grievance he had filed against the league, alleging its 32 teams colluded to keep him off their rosters.
A timeline of Colin Kaepernick’s protests against police brutality
Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll, who had praised Kaepernick in 2017 as being well worthy of NFL employment, said last week that he was contacted by the quarterback. Carroll said that Kaepernick deserved another opportunity but was vague on how that might unfold.

“I don’t know if it’s here. I don’t know where it is. I don’t know if it’s even in football. I don’t know,” said Carroll, shortly after his team traded away longtime starting quarterback Russell Wilson. “People get a second opportunity in their lifetime … and they can make the most of it if they’re ready for it. I don’t mean to send out any mixed messages about that. But I wanted you to understand that that’s how serious this is. It’s second-chance time.”
Harbaugh has been effusive at times in his praise for Kaepernick. When Time named Kaepernick in 2017 to its “100 most influential people” list, Harbaugh wrote a short essay for the publication in which he asserted, “How lucky for us all and for our country to have among our citizens someone as remarkable as Colin Kaepernick.”
“I thank Colin for all he has contributed to the game of football as an outstanding player and trusted teammate,” Harbaugh wrote. “I also applaud Colin for the courage he has demonstrated in exercising his guaranteed right of free speech. His willingness to take a position at personal cost is now part of our American story.”



In 2020, Harbaugh said he hoped that Kaepernick “has a chance to play again and that he does play.”
Kaepernick appeared to impress some of the Wolverines on Wednesday, both with his words and his physique.
“When he stood up in front of the team, I’m not to proud to say this, but he was bigger than me, so I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” said defensive lineman Kris Jenkins (via maizenbrew.com), a former standout at Good Counsel High in Olney who is listed at 6-3 and 275 pounds. “I definitely think he’s still got a lot left in the tank.”
“I’m very appreciative of Coach Harbaugh actually bringing him in to us and having him talk to us, lay some gems down for us, and just listening to what he has to say,” linebacker Jaylen Harrell said. “What he brings, his experiences, and how we can apply that to our day-to-day life.
“It’s a blessing for Coach Harbaugh to bring Colin Kaepernick into the building.”

 
In November 2019, Kaepernick held a workout before NFL scouts and others at an Atlanta-area high school. It had been initially coordinated with the league to take place at the Falcons’ training complex, but Kaepernick and his camp objected to a liability waiver they said the NFL wanted him to sign, and they moved the session to a nearby high school. That cast something of a cloud over the event, and the apparent lack of any ensuing interest from NFL teams continued his years-long ostracization.
Not showing up to a job interview does tend to jeopardize your chances of landing the job.
 
He may as well give up.

Was he black listed? Of course he may not have been a starter but he was better than most of the back ups that teams are signing.

That said it has been so long since he played that there are now legitimate football reasons that you wouldn't want your team to sign him.
 
It's the clown show that never ends...
t just goes on and on my friends.
Some people started singing it not knowing what it was
and they'll continue singing it forever just because
it's the clown show that never ends...
 
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