Henry Roldán
Colin Kaepernick’s return to the NFL seems to be closer than you might think after it was learned that he trained with the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday.
According to a tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the quarterback showed up to the Raiders’ non-mandatory workouts, completing his first practice with an NFL organization since playing his final season with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.
Even though in 2017 Kaepernick visited the Seattle Seahawks and on some occasions presented himself to some teams, this is the first time that he is so close to returning to the American football league after his controversial actions against social inequality and racial injustice in the United States.
Let’s recall that in 2016, Colin Kaepernick led a huge movement within the NFL, as well as outside of it, by kneeling every time the National Anthem of the United States was played before each game.
This resulted in a lot of division between players and fans, since while some claimed that the protest was legitimate, others pointed out that it was a lack of respect for the country’s patriotic symbols.
After finishing his contract with the 49ers, Kaepernick did not receive any opportunity in the league again and even a couple of years ago he accused the NFL of scheming against him, due to the fact that few teams were open to offer him an opportunity.
One of them was precisely the owner of the Raiders, Mark Davis, who, according to ESPN’s Paul Gutiérrez, in 2020 told his coaching staff that if they were interested in hiring Colin Kaepernick they had his “blessing”.
The Las Vegas team has Derek Carr as its starting quarterback; however, Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens aren’t promising as backups, so for Kaepernick, who has said on several occasions that he would not mind returning to this role, this could be a good option.
Colin Kaepernick and his good numbers in the NFL
Although the last two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers were a disaster, at the beginning of his NFL career Colin Kaepernick shone with that team by leading them in two consecutive seasons, including a Super Bowl in which they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
In total, the 34-year-old played 69 games with the 49ers, 58 of them as a starter. His mark on the grid was 28-30, with 12,271 passing yards, 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, in addition to being one of the best quarterbacks of that time to run with the ball, registering 2,300 yards and 13 TDs.
