Peter King Unable to Confirm Rumor of Patriots' Interest in Colin Kaepernick

Mark Geragos, the attorney for Colin Kaepernick, said over the weekend that he believes his client will return to the NFL and could receive interest from the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots.

And while Peter King of Pro Football Talk believes a move to the Patriots would be feasible, he reported that he couldn't confirm any possible interest from New England's perspective:

"I believe some teams have had interest in signing Kaepernick as a backup quarterback who may have been able to work his way into the starting job—on some teams—when the noise died down. Interested coaches and GMs with some franchises would have had to battle the business side of the organization and possibly the owner to get the deal done. That wouldn't have to happen in a place like New England. If Bill Belichick wanted Kaepernick, I've got to think owner Robert Kraft would agree to let him make that move. (Maybe that's why that rumor got some legs over the weekend, though I couldn't find any confirmation of any interest by New England in Kaepernick.)"

On Saturday, Geragos said in an interview on CNN that Kaepernick still "absolutely wants to play" in the NFL, adding, "He wants to compete at the highest level. This is a competitive young man."

He also called the Carolina Panthers a "natural fit" for Kaepernick since he could back up Cam Newton and be reunited with former 49ers teammate Eric Reid, though he added that he wouldn't be surprised if a former Patriots coach "makes a move" for the veteran quarterback.

But he left the Patriots as a possibility as well.

"I think you're going to see...within the next two weeks that somebody is going to step up and do the right thing, and you want me to predict who?" Geragos said during his interview. "Besides the Panthers, it would not surprise me if [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft makes a move."

His comments come in the wake of Kaepernick settling his collusion case with the NFL. The 31-year-old hasn't played in the NFL since 2016, when he knelt during the national anthem to protest racial discrimination and police brutality. The free agent wasn't signed in any of the last two offseasons, with Kaepernick and his defenders claiming it was due to his political stances and not because of his ability as a player.

King wrote that he doesn't believe that Kaepernick will ever play in the NFL again and that business concerns that NFL teams had over his protests are what kept him out of the league for the last two years, not his ability on the field. 

Regardless, it remains to be seen if Kaepernick will get another shot. If he does, the Panthers and Patriots appear to be the top contenders.