Colin Kaepernick's NFL career back in focus amid calls for comeback
Kaepernick last played in the league in 2016.
The status of Colin Kaepernick’s pro football career drew renewed national interest in recent days after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, President Trump and other prominent figures spoke out the possibility of a comeback.
A former starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick last played in the NFL during the 2016 season. He was the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality in the U.S., starting a trend among pro athletes that would eventually draw the ire of Trump, who views the protests as disrespectful to the flag.
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"Well, listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it's gonna take a team to make that decision," Goodell said during an interview on ESPN's "The Return of Sports" special earlier this week. "But I welcome that, support a club making that decision, and encourage them to do that.”
Goodell’s comments marked a turning point in the NFL’s contentious relationship with Kaepernick in the past.
The NFL set up a private workout for Kaepernick last fall and invited all 32 teams to attend. Kaepernick pulled out of the workout hours before it was set to begin. His representatives said the NFL had refused to allow the media to attend and asked Kaepernick to sign an “unusual” liability waiver.
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Kaepernick was once regarded as one of the NFL’s most dynamic young quarterbacks, earning more than $43 million during his first six seasons in the league. A second-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Kaepernick played sparingly during his rookie season with the 49ers.
Former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh named Kaepernick the team’s starting quarterback midway through the 2012 season. Kaepernick recorded a 5-2 record as a starter that season and lead the 49ers to a berth in Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
Kaepernick built on his success in 2013, leading the 49ers to a 12-4 record and another playoff appearance. He signed a six-year contract extension worth up to $126 million that offseason.
Harbaugh left the 49ers prior to the 2014 NFL season. The team struggled to an 8-8 record under new coach Jim Tomsula that fall. Kaepernick appeared in just nine games during an injury-riddled 2015 campaign and lost his starting job ahead of the following season.
Kaepernick eventually regained his starting role during the 2016 season, but amassed a dismal 1-10 record as a starter. At the same time, he prompted a nationwide debate on national anthem protests that persists to the present day.
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Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers in early 2017 and went unsigned through the summer. He filed a collusion grievance against the NFL in the fall of 2017, accusing the league’s 32 team owners of conspiring to keep him off the field due to his role in the protests. The two sides reached a financial settlement in February 2019.
Trump, who once called on NFL owners to fire any player who knelt during the national anthem, expressed support for a Kaepernick comeback earlier this week – so long as the former 49ers star was capable of helping a team win.
“If he deserves it, he should. If he has the playing ability,” Trump said in an interview with Sinclair Broadcasting. “He started off great and then he didn’t end up very great as a player. He was terrific in his rookie year. I think he was very good in his second year and then something happened, so his play wasn’t up to snuff. The answer is, absolutely I would.”