It wasn’t too long ago when NFL teams seem hesitant to give Colin Kaepernick a chance to possibly suit up in past seasons. The 32-year-old has not played since 2016, something that most believe was tied to the kneeling protests he made to make a stand against police brutality. Though it was never proven, the belief then was there was some influence from powerful people. In the case of the NFL, Roger Goodell was being singled out as one.
That may never be proven and irrelevant now. Mass protests are happening around the world, something that resulted from the untimely death of George Floyd. And it appears several other cases have cropped up from that, placing select parts of the world in a precarious situation. It is something that is not needed right now, considering the world is trying to find ways to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for Kaepernick, his stance against racial injustice seems to have been vindicated in a way. Before, most felt he was fighting for something that would not result in anything. But with people practically of all races around the world doing their share of protests, the level of awareness right now is entirely different. Goodell even admitted that he should have listened to the players when they were trying to raise their point via Instagram.
Tied up to that is the NFL future of Kaepernick. It appears Goodell has indirectly endorsed him to teams, telling them to give the guy a chance, ESPN reported. The endorsement may come as a surprise, particularly for people who followed the journey of Kaepernick since 2016. Though he has been left out in the cold, he has managed to keep himself in shape. Best of all, he did not give up on his NFL dream.
The latest team linked to Kaepernick is the Seattle Seahawks. Coach Pete Carroll believes that Kaepernick should be revisited to see if he still has what it takes to play pro football. In the past years, multiple teams were linked to the 36th pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. However, something just stood in the way of seeing him signed, better known, and termed by most as blackballing. Aside from the Seahawks, it will be interesting if some team will at least give Kaepernick a workout.
Considering he has been out of action for so long, Kaepernick is expected to struggle. There are teams in need of a quarterback, so the 32-year-old could be worth a shot. If he does get the nod, it would be best to lower expectations. The best he can hope for is a backup role and work his way up from there.
