Colin Kaepernick arrives at Bills game wearing Muhammad Ali shirt

Colin Kaepernick started Sunday’s game for San Francisco against the Buffalo Bills. He last started an NFL game on Nov. 1, 2015 against St. Louis. Since then:

•St. Louis no longer has an NFL team.
• Kaepernick has gone from future-of-the-NFL-quarterback to also-ran.
• The 49ers have restructured Kaepernick’s contract to turn the rest of the 2016 season into a de facto audition.

Oh, and Kaepernick just happened to kick off a protest movement that has fascinated, enraged, inspired, and consumed the entire country, from the president and Supreme Court justices right down to the mooks slamming one another through tables at Buffalo Bills pregame tailgates. Kap is getting credit for inspiring a new activism and blame for demolishing the NFL’s ratings. But finally, he’s playing some meaningful football.

Kaepernick arrived at Sunday’s game in characteristically activist fashion, wearing a Muhammad Ali T-shirt. It’s a pointed reminder to his many opponents that for all the lionization of Ali following the boxing legend after his death earlier this year, Ali sustained much of the same criticism for his political stances in the 1960s as Kaepernick has this year.

That’s the first element of the storyline out of Buffalo on Sunday regarding Kaepernick’s political stance and football future. It surely won’t be the last.

UPDATING: Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko walked the tailgate area prior to the game and found everything from fan rage to, well … T-shirts apparently condoning taking actual shots at Kaepernick:

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.