LAS VEGAS — Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will work out for the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday, first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Kaepernick, 34, last played in the NFL during the 2016 season, during which he peacefully protested social injustice and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem.
Kaepernick went unsigned that following offseason but has been outspoken about his desire for another NFL team to give him a chance, as recently as earlier this year.
While NFL had said it encouraged teams to take a look at Kaepernick, this will be his first workout for an NFL team since 2017. He recently threw in front of NFL scouts during halftime of the University of Michigan spring game in Ann Arbor in April.
Mick Lombardi, who was a 49ers assistant from 2013-2016 when Kaepernick played there, is now the Raiders’ offensive coordinator.
The narrative against Kaepernick perpetuated by NFL fans and talking heads since he’s been out of the league is that a return to a team would cause too much of a distraction.
“That 2016 season, my last year, my teammates voted me most courageous and inspirational player,” Kaepernick said in a recent interview with the “I Am Athlete” podcast . “So, when you’re talking about the people that are in the building, that has never come out that I’ve been a distraction. That’s never come out that I’ve been an issue for the people I’ve played with.”
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The 49ers, when they were coached by Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and led by Kaepernick at QB, went to Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 where they lost to the Ravens 34-31.
The following two seasons, Kaepernick threw for over 3,000 yards and rushed for over 500 yards in both seasons.