NFL

Colin Kaepernick to throw in front of NFL scouts at Michigan spring game

Free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s pursuit of a return to the National Football League will continue this weekend when he holds a throwing exhibition during halftime of the University of Michigan’s spring game on Saturday.

Draft-eligible players will catch passes from Kaepernick and NFL team personnel in attendance will be permitted to watch the event, the NFL said on its website.

Kaepernick, who has been unable to find a team to sign him since 2017, was among the first players to kneel during the pregame playing of the U.S. national anthem to protest the extrajudicial killings of Black people by police.

He filed a grievance against the NFL in 2017, claiming collusion as no teams signed him after he parted ways with the San Francisco 49ers. Kaepernick and the NFL settled in 2019.

The 34-year-old drew renewed interest in the summer of 2020 when the NFL expressed it would welcome Kaepernick back, but left the decision up to its member clubs to sign him. No team has done it so far.

In this Dec. 11, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick stands in the bench area during the second half of the team’s NFL football game against the New York Jets in Santa Clara, Calif. AP

Kaepernick has played in 69 games in his NFL career. He took over as the 49ers starting quarterback in the 2013 season and led San Francisco to a Super Bowl appearance.

The game will be on the Big Ten Network at 12 p.m Saturday.

Netflix has billed the special as recounting Colin Kapernick’s “formative years navigating race, class and culture while aspiring for greatness.” Courtesy of Neflix
In this file photo, Colin Kaepernick looks to make a pass during a private NFL workout held at Charles R Drew high school on November 16, 2019 in Riverdale, Georgia. Getty Images