Former Packer Killer Wants Back in NFL
Dustin Baker
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Desiring an unprecedented comeback in the sport, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick on Thursday again reiterated his goal to return to the NFL.
A video of him practicing was posted to social media, and the man wants another crack at the NFL, a seemingly annual request from the 34-year-old.
At the peak of his powers, Kaepernick was fantastic, downing the Green Bay Packers in consecutive playoff games during 2012 and 2013. All told, Kaepernick was a miniature household name in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
However, in 2016, when his team battled a horrible win-loss season, Kaepernick peacefully protested police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, taking advice he received from Army Green Beret Nate Boyer.
At a time when American politics were dividing along ideological fault lines, Kaepernick’s protest was not received with enthusiasm by a large voting bloc in the nation. Kaepernick was used as political dynamite, chided as a man who “didn’t support the military” — even though he was dissenting over police brutality, not anything to do with American Armed Forces.
Nevertheless, Kaepernick was blackballed from the league, never receiving attention again to play in the NFL at the ripe old age of 29. And ever since, Kaepernick has nibbled at the idea of playing again. Normally, those aspirations creep up on the calendar right about now — the free agency period — so here we are.
About seven teams need quarterbacks as free agency begins — the Buccaneers, Colts, Panthers, Saints, Seahawks, Steelers, and Texans. It’s no coincidence the Kaepernick social media video is circulating now, even if he could land a QB2 or QB3 job.
Kapernick is 34 years old, well within a reasonable age range to play quarterback in the NFL. Yet, he’s been away from the league for six years. It is unlikely a franchise finally obliges.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His YouTube Channel, VikesNow, debuts in March 2022. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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