Colin Kaepernick told journalist Jemele Hill on Saturday at the Black Footwear Forum in Detroit, Michigan, that he still trains daily as though he were an active NFL player and remains convinced he can still play in the league. Kaepernick and Hill did not take questions from the audience, so his claim went unchallenged and unexplored.
Hill, appearing alongside Kaepernick, went further than simply relaying his comments. She suggested the Atlanta Falcons specifically should consider signing him, calling Atlanta a “Black city” and pointing to the team’s quarterback situation as justification.
The Falcons opened their season with Cooper Rush at quarterback after injuries sidelined both Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix. Rush has been an active NFL player every season since 2021, mostly stepping in when starters were hurt. In Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he completed 12 of 22 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Kaepernick, by contrast, has not played in the NFL in ten years. He turns 39 in November. No quarterback, regardless of personal training regimen, returns to professional form after a decade away from competitive play.
Kaepernick last played in the league in 2016, during the season in which he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality. He has not appeared in an NFL game since.
What’s actually being proposed
Neither Kaepernick nor Hill addressed, in the remarks reported from the event, how a nine-year absence from professional football would be overcome, or why the Falcons specifically would benefit from making that bet over other roster options. The Falcons have not commented on any interest in signing Kaepernick.
The exchange took place without press questions, meaning the specific claims went unverified in real time and without follow-up on how such a signing would work in practice.
Add comment