Colin Kaepernick sends letter to Jets requesting position on practice squad
The Jets have become the epicenter of quarterback ineptitude. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick still wants a job in the NFL.
It's a perfect match, from the player's perspective.
Kaepernick recently sent a letter to the Jets seeking consideration for a spot on the team's practice squad. The letter publicly surfaced on Tuesday, posted to social media by rapper and producer J. Cole.
Per multiple sources, it is authentic and real. And while I believe that Kaepernick was indeed blackballed by the NFL and victimized by collusion aimed at punishing him for making players aware of their rights to protest during the national anthem, I also believe that this latest effort is a misguided publicity stunt aimed not at returning to the NFL for the first time since the 2016 season.
In the September 21 letter to Jets G.M. Joe Douglas, Kaepernick requests an "opportunity to come in and lead the practice squad . . . with the sole mission of getting your defense ready each week."
The terminology is a little off; it prompted us to confirm and re-confirm that the letter was actually real. Kaepernick presumably meant to say he wants to lead the scout team each week.
Regardless, his broader goal is to provide the Jets with an alternative to Zach Wilson, in the event things don't work out. And the reality is that, if this is Kaepernick's prerogative, it makes far more sense to not turn it into a spectacle.
The mere fact that the letter came to light will make it even less likely that the Jets will accept the offer. "Why would they release that?" said one source with knowledge of the team's thinking. "If you're truly trying to get in with a team, why create drama?"
The letter identifies Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, UCLA coach Chip Kelly, Ravens coach John Harbaugh, and Raiders owner Mark Davis as references. Frankly, if Kaepernick truly wants to play again (and not just generate free publicity from his supposed effort to play again), he should be texting Davis over and over and over. Davis brought him in for a workout last year, and Davis's starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, currently is in the concussion protocol.
What happened to Kaepernick was wrong. But the NFL successfully ran out the clock on his NFL career. At this point, it's over and it's done and no one will be signing him. It shouldn't have happened, but it did. While he has every right to take every opportunity to draw attention to the situation, this doesn't feel like a true effort to play again — and the early indications are it will not work.
