Colin Kaepernick Workout Was Controversial Mess We All Expected
The Colin Kaepernick workout took place Saturday and with all the drama and controversy that it was expected to have from the start. | Credit: Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage
- The workout the NFL set up for Colin Kaepernick and shrouded in mystery all week did not end up happening Saturday afternoon at the Atlanta Falcons facility.
- Issues with the waiver, among other things, the NFL wanted Kaepernick to sign caused the 32-year old former quarterback to pull out.
- He ended up holding a workout anyway at a local high school but with only a handful of scouts present.
As could be expected, the workout the NFL set up under questionable circumstances for Colin Kaepernick did not go off without a hitch. There was a lot of support online and in Atlanta for him. But there were also people in Atlanta protesting him and his usual detractors online. But he had a workout, just not the one the NFL had set up for him.
Rather than have it at the Atlanta Falcons facility, where the media was not going to be allowed in, he opted to hold it at a local high school about an hour away with his own receivers(but not Antonio Brown). His lawyers released a statement about the change of venue Saturday morning:
At the Falcons facility, 25 teams had representatives along with former NFL head coach Hue Jackson, who was going to run the workout. But since the NFL would not allow Kaepernick to bring in his own video crew or for the media to be permitted, he skipped the NFL’s workout and held his own instead.
Only eight teams decided to make the additional drive.
The NFL released a statement expressing its disappointment over Kaepernick not showing up. The league also addressed some of the issues Kaepernick’s reps brought up:
So—How Did He Look?
With the change of venue, the workout was made open to the public, the media, and was streamed live online as well. It was the transparency that he asked the NFL for and didn’t get. But could he throw? Of course, he could:
https://twitter.com/abdulamemon/status/1195839579590471681
According to Adam Schefter, one NFL executive said Kaepernick’s “arm talent” is “elite” and is the “same as when he came out of college.” He noted that “Kaepernick threw the ball well.” But the general perception of the workout varied amongst watchers online.
Several supported Kaepernick and liked what they saw. Many commented on how impressed they were with how well he threw the ball. But many posted less favorable comments.
But Is Colin Kaepernick Going to Get a Job?
The whole perceived point of this was to give him a chance to prove he can play and not be a distraction to whatever team happens to sign him. But that wasn’t the actual point. A Pro-Day style workout like this does not prove a player can play football. That is something every analyst says once colleges start holding pro days and before and after the combine.
Running drills and sprinting for 40 yards does not prove a person can play football. Just like the Combine, the real value in this workout was not seeing Kaepernick throwing the football. It was to see if he was going to do what they asked of him and not be a distraction.
He proved that was not the case when he skipped the NFL’s workout. Then he drove that point home in his post-workout comments:
No one’s entitled to a job in the NFL or anywhere else. Kaepernick and his supporters fail to realize that. Team owners have the right to sign whoever they want and for whatever reason suits them. The same goes for guys they don’t sign. It’s why the career of Terrell Owens ended early.
He talks as if all 32 teams should be interested in him. Most do not need a quarterback. That’s probably why most decided not to make the additional drive once the venue changed. There is a new batch of young quarterbacks preparing to come out of college to pursue their NFL dreams. So, why would anyone want a 32-year old one that hasn’t played in three years, anyway?
This workout was Colin Kaepernick’s chance to prove he was not going to thumb his nose in the face of the NFL’s authority. Any chance of getting a job hinged on that.
No one is running or scared of him. He just isn’t worth the trouble that comes with signing him.
