Colin Kaepernick snubbed by NFL again as injury-plagued Detroit Lions recruit two young quarterbacks instead
Formal National Football League (NFL) player and free agent Colin Kaepernick's absence from the league is set to continue after it emerged that the quarterback will not be joining the Detroit Lions' set up. The Lions suffered another loss, 24-20, to the Chicago Bears as the team was again without franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The team faced their fifth defeat in a row, leading to speculation that Kaepernick could potentially be in line for a call-up.
However, reports state that they signed 25-year-old quarterback Kyle Sloter from the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad instead. Undrafted rookie David Blough is set to continue at QB after 26-year-old Jeff Driskel was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season, according to the Daily Star. Another player, 26-year-old Joe Callahan, was also signed onto the team's practice squad, reports state.
The NFL had arranged the tryouts for the quarterback at Atlanta Falcons training facility in Georgia, however, the location was shifted to a high school stadium at the last minute.
Kaepernick, while commenting on the change, had stated that it was done so that the media could be present. Reports state that Kaepernick's team decided to move the location of his workout after they accused the NFL of not acting rightfully.
"From the outset, Mr. Kaepernick requested a legitimate process and from the outset, the NFL league office has not provided one," his team said in a statement. "Most recently, the NFL has demanded that as a precondition to the workout, Mr. Kaepernick sign an unusual liability waiver that addresses employment-related issues and rejected the standard liability waiver from physical injury proposed by Mr. Kaepernick’s representatives."
After Kaepernick changed the location of his tryouts, the NFL released a statement, saying it was "disappointed" at his decision.
At least seven teams sent their scouts to Kaepernick's event while the other 25 were sent videotapes of his session. NFL sources, while talking to ESPN, said that none of the teams have contacted Kapernick or his representatives since.
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has not played a single game in the NFL ever since he left the 49ers at the end of the 2016 session, the year he began his controversial protest of kneeling during the national anthem.
Kaepernick stirred a national controversy in an effort to protest against reported police brutality against black people in the country. Other players soon took his cue and joined the protest in the 2016 season, while many others have continued the protest till now.
Police killed a total of 1,164 people in the United States in 2018, marking an increase from the 1,147 people killed in the country by policemen in 2017, according to MappingPoliceViolence.org. At least 25 percent of those killed were black people despite them making only 13% of the population. Kaepernick's movement drew heavy criticism from President Donald Trump, who even called for the owners of the NFL teams to fire the players who were participating in it.
The quarterback released a statement last week, saying: "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, Roger Goodell, all of them to stop running. Stop running from the truth. Stop running from the people."