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Colin Kaepernick to Hold Throwing Exhibition During Halftime of Michigan Spring Game
April 1, 2022
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick will be conducting an "exhibition throwing event with some draft-eligible players during halftime of Michigan’s spring game" on Saturday, according to ESPN's Field Yates.
Per that report, NFL personnel at the game will be permitted to spectate the event.
Kaepernick had already been named the honorary captain for the game and met with the team:
Michigan Football @UMichFootballFootball Family.<br><br>Excited to share the field with our honorary captain for Saturday's Maize and Blue Spring Game, <a href="https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kaepernick7</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoBlue</a> 〽 <a href="https://t.co/2H6Yj2Ivwl">pic.twitter.com/2H6Yj2Ivwl</a>
"I'm very appreciative of coach Harbaugh actually bringing him in to us and having him talk to us, lay some gems down for us, and just listening to what he has to say," Michigan edge-rusher Jaylen Harrell told reporters Thursday. "What he brings, his experiences, and how we can apply that to our day-to-day life. It's a blessing for coach Harbaugh to bring Colin Kaepernick into the building."
"He's a really nice, positive dude, it's great to have him here," defensive lineman Kris Jenkins added. "We're excited to have him as our honorary captain for the spring game, and also excited to have him throw the ball around a little bit at halftime."
Kaepernick, 34, played four seasons with Jim Harbaugh as his head coach on the San Francisco 49ers between 2011-15, before Harbaugh departed for Michigan. Kaepernick last played in the NFL in the 2016 season, the same year he kneeled during the playing of the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial discrimination.
He went unsigned after that season and has remained out of the NFL since. He sued the NFL alongside former teammate Eric Reid for colluding to keep him out of the league based on his political beliefs, settling with the league in 2019.
But Kaepernick has had workouts throughout the years and has ramped up those efforts this offseason, most notably pairing with Seattle Seahawks wideout Tyler Lockett for a throwing session earlier in March:
Colin Kaepernick @Kaepernick7Here’s a few clips from yesterday’s workout with <a href="https://twitter.com/TDLockett12?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TDLockett12</a> and his brother Sterling Lockett.<br><br>The full workout is available at this link <a href="https://t.co/7ZhvTeDqZU">https://t.co/7ZhvTeDqZU</a>. <br><br>We are back at it today with <a href="https://twitter.com/Footwork_King2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Footwork_King2</a> and his guys on ig live later today. <a href="https://t.co/BLrs0hJLrB">pic.twitter.com/BLrs0hJLrB</a>
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told reporters at the NFL's annual meetings this week that he's had discussions with Kaepernick, but nothing has materialized to this point.
"Our conversations have not progressed since the early connection that we made," he said. "I've watched a bunch of his workouts ... to kind of keep me up with what's going on. He's really working hard. He's all over the country, traveling around, getting his workouts in. So he's still competing for it."