Colin Kaepernick held a workout in front of representatives from several NFL teams on Saturday (November 16th), but it wasn't the workout the NFL had unexpectedly offered him less than a week earlier, as the free-agent quarterback decided against doing the league-organized event soon before it was to take place in Atlanta. Instead, Kaepernick held the workout at a high school field about 45 minutes away, and instead of the representatives from 25 of the 32 NFL teams who'd gone to Atlanta to watch him, only reps from eight teams traveled to the new location. Kaepernick walked away from the NFL-sponsored workout because his team didn't trust a waiver the league wanted him to sign, which the NFL insisted was standard, and because the league wouldn't allow his team the film the workout or the media to watch.
Judging how he did at the workout,Sports Illustrated cited a few of the scouts there who said he was able to show he's still the player he used to be. The NFL Network spoke to four evaluators at the scene, who agreed he had good velocity on his throws and can still move well, although his accuracy was inconsistent. And ESPN cited an unnamed NFL executive at the workout who said Kaepernick had, quote, "elite" arm strength and threw well. Kaepernick, who hasn't been picked up by a team since the 2016-17 season, during which he kneeled during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality, said at the workout, "I've been ready for three years. I've been denied for three years. We all know why I came out here. [I] showed it today in front of everybody. We have nothing to hide. So we're waiting for the 32 owners, 32 teams, [Commissioner] Roger Goodell, all of them stop running. Stop running from the truth. Stop running from the people."
But when asked if he expected Kaepernick to get an opportunity to sign with a team anytime soon, his agent, Jeff Nalley, told ESPN, "I'll be honest, I'm a little bit pessimistic because I've talked to all 32 teams. I've reached out to them recently, and none of them have had any interest. I'll tell you this: No team asked for this workout. The league office asked for this workout."