Reports surfaced last week that the NFL invited former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to workout in Atlanta. “I’m just getting word from my representatives that the NFL league office reached out to them about a workout in Atlanta on Saturday. I’ve been in shape and ready for this for 3 years, can’t wait to see the head coaches and GMs on Saturday,” said Kap on Tuesday (Nov. 12) via Twitter.
It was later said that JAY-Z reportedly had influence on Kap’s workout with the NFL. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith claimed that despite the backlash Hov received following the announcement of his partnership with the NFL, the mogul’s relationship with the league has aided in Kap getting an opportunity to workout for teams.
“To me the name that comes to my mind is JAY-Z,” Smith said. “Why? Because JAY-Z meets with Commissioner Roger Goodell. At that particular moment in time, he’s excoriated. All of a sudden, Hov, who everybody loved, a whole buncha folks turned against him, accusing him of selling out, turning in his black card and all of this ridiculous nonsense. And what did he say? He said listen, folks are gonna work behind the scenes.”
Fast forward to Saturday (Nov. 16), Kaepernick took the field at Charles Drew High School in Atlanta for his workout, which was initially private, but turned public. CBS Sports reports that fans flocked the high school gates to look and cheer Kap on, while local reporters streamed the event. The outlet revealed that seven teams were represented at the workout — the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers, and Detroit Lions.
Following the workout, Kaepernick spoke with fans and signed autographs, but he did not take any questions. Instead, he addressed reporters as a whole. After thanking the media for attending the workout, Kap said, “I’ve been ready for three years. I’ve been denied for three years. We all know why I came out here today and showed it in front of everybody. We have nothing to hide. So we’re waiting for the 32 owners, the 32 teams, Roger Goodell, all of them to stop running, stop running from the truth, stop running from the people. Around here, we’re ready to play, we’re ready to go anywhere, my agent Jeff Nalley is ready to talk to any team. I’ll interview with any team at any time.”
“We’ll be waiting to hear from Roger Goodell, the NFL, 32 teams. We’ll let you know if we hear from them,” he added. “The ball’s in their court.”
Check out Colin Kaepernick’s message to the media below.