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Colin Kaepernick has been out of the NFL for over five years, but that hasn't stopped him from running into the wall that is his NFL job search. Even in 2022, six years after his final game, the quarterback is doing all he can to stay ready and put his name in front of general managers. Here's what he had to say:
“I am still up at 5 a.m. training 5, 6 days a week making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again. That’s not something I will ever let go of, regardless of the actions of thirty-two teams and their partners to deny me employment. The same way I was persistent in high school is the same way I’m gonna be persistent here.”
In a separate video shared to Twitter on March 23 by Niko Tamurian of KOMO News, Kaepernick was asked about his message to NFL teams after missing the last several seasons. He essentially called for teams to bring him in for a workout so he can show what he has to offer:
“I think more than anything, is again, where my skills are, the best way to tell is bring me in for a workout. We have no expectations of what teams will do, but we just want the opportunity to walk in the door and show them what I can do. And, I think my talent, my skill set will speak for itself."
Colin Kaepernick's time in the NFL in the previous decade
2010-2020 was the most eventful decade of the quarterback's life. According to Pro Football Reference, in 2011, he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers at 24 years old. His rookie season was uneventful as the quarterback sat out for the entire season. In 2012, Kaepernick took over for Alex Smith and went 5-2 in seven starts.
He made the Super Bowl in his first season as a starter but ultimately came up short. The following season, the quarterback went 12-4 and made it to the conference championship. However, that would be the peak of the quarterback's career. The following season saw him slip to 8-8. In 2015, the quarterback went 2-6, and finally, in 2016, the quarterback won just one game in 11 tries.
In September that year, the quarterback started a movement when he decided to kneel during the national anthem. According to the Chicago Tribune, Kaepernick's first revolutionary act took place on September 1. By 2018, it was clear that the quarterback's time in the NFL was over.
Since then, the quarterback has had to keep busy outside of football while staying ready for if and when the call comes. Will the 34-year-old quarterback get one last chance to get into the NFL before fatherhood catches up to him?
