Report: John Harbaugh Sought Advice from Friends About Signing Colin Kaepernick

When the Baltimore Ravens considered signing Colin Kaepernick ahead of the 2017 season, coach John Harbaugh sought advice from one "high-ranking U.S. military official" who offered his concern and suggested the team give the quarterback a set of rules regarding Kaepernick's national anthem protests.

TMZ Sports reported the official "didn't outright say, 'Don't sign Kaep'—but advised the team to give [Kaepernick] a set of specific guidelines he needed to follow if he wanted to keep his job."

The Ravens considered signing Kaepernick last summer following an injury to Joe Flacco. The situation is arguably as close as Kaepernick got to signing an NFL contract last offseason. Former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said on Showtime's Inside the NFL that a tweet by Kaepernick's girlfriend, radio personality Nessa, changed the team's mind on signing him. 

"We were going to close the deal to sign him," Lewis said (h/t ESPN). "Steve Bisciotti said, 'I want to hear Colin Kaepernick speak to let me know that he wants to play football.'

"And it never happens because that picture comes up the next day."

Nessa sent out a tweet Aug. 2 that depicted Lewis as Samuel L. Jackson's house slave character from Django Unchained and Ravens owner Steve Biscotti as Leonardo DiCaprio's slave owner character.

The Ravens instead chose to sign Thad Lewis, who was later released as part of final roster cuts. Flacco recovered from his injury and played in all 16 games, with Ryan Mallett serving as his backup. It's unclear if Kaepernick would have made the roster even if signed.

Kaepernick ultimately spent the entire 2017 season out of football despite throwing for 2,241 yards and 16 touchdowns against four interceptions a year prior with the San Francisco 49ers. It's widely believed the anthem protests, which he began to raise awareness for systemic racism in the United States, were the biggest factor in him remaining unsigned.

Kaepernick has filed a lawsuit against the NFL claiming teams colluded to keep him out of the league.