Any chance free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick had of returning to the NFL has likely passed, according to comments Commissioner Roger Goodell made Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters at the league’s winter meetings in Irving, Texas, Goodell addressed last month’s scheduled Kaepernick workout for NFL teams – an event that all but collapsed when Kaepernick decided at the last minute to relocate it away from the facility he and league officials had agreed upon.
“This was about creating an opportunity. We created that opportunity. It was a unique opportunity, a credible opportunity,” Goodell said, according to Reuters, “and he chose not to take it. I understand that.
“We’ve moved on,” the commissioner added, suggesting that the league was finished considering Kaepernick for future workouts or team roster openings.
“This was about creating an opportunity. We created that opportunity. It was a unique opportunity, a credible opportunity, and he chose not to take it. I understand that. We’ve moved on.”
The originally scheduled workout for Kaepernick appeared to be a breakthrough following a three-year dispute in which Kaepernick has been unable to get a job with an NFL team since he and the 49ers parted ways at the conclusion of the 2016 season.
The split followed the quarterback’s kneeling protests during the national anthem before 49ers games. He and other players alleged that the league had blackballed him because of the demonstrations, which Kaepernick said were intended as objections to police brutality against African-Americans and other minorities.
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