Adam Schefter explains why Raiders are bringing in Colin Kaepernick
It’s been five years since Colin Kaepernick worked out with an NFL team. That’s changing Wednesday when the Las Vegas Raiders bring him in — and an NFL insider explained why other teams might follow suit.
During Wednesday’s edition of NFL Live on ESPN, Adam Schefter discussed the Raiders’ rationale for bringing in Kaepernick, who hasn’t thrown a pass in the NFL since 2016. He said there are plenty of unknowns since it’s been six years, and teams looking for quarterback depth might be interested in seeing how he looks.
“Well, you don’t bring in a guy unless you plan to have him on the roster,” Schefter said. “Derek Carr signed a lucrative new extension. They’re looking to come up with as much depth as possible on the roster. Clearly, they see him as a guy that they’re curious about, that they want to check out. They want to see how he’s in shape, how he’s throwing.
“He’s 34 years old. We haven’t seen him in the National Football League since he was 28. So it’s been a long time. Nobody knows exactly the shape he’s in, nobody knows exactly how he would handle the offense. The Raiders are going to bring him in, see what he’s about and maybe this will lead to other teams bringing him in. Other teams have pondered it. The league has advocated for teams across the league to give him a chance, but nobody has up until this week. At least there’s a workout, which is a sign of progress — more progress than we’ve seen since he visited the Seahawks five years ago.”
More on Colin Kaepernick’s workout with the Las Vegas Raiders
Wednesday’s workout with the Raiders is Kaepernick’s first with an NFL team since 2017 when the Seattle Seahawks brought him in. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback hasn’t played in the league since 2016 when he kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
“This is going to be the first workout for Colin Kaepernick [with] an NFL team since he was exiled from the NFL after kneeling to protest racial injustice across the country,” Schefter said. “Now, he did visit the Seattle Seahawks five years ago. But there have been no visits, there have been no workouts and at some point this week, the Raiders are planning to work out Colin Kaepernick, who’s been training in Las Vegas. We’ll see how that goes.
“But obviously, you don’t bring in a player like this unless you are understanding of the ramifications and everything that comes along with it and what it can do for your offense. He’s been looking for a chance just to get back to the National Football League. He knows he’ll have to come in as a backup.”