Colin Kaepernick hasn’t thrown an NFL pass since 2016, but his name keeps resurfacing whenever a quarterback room hits trouble. Now, as another franchise scrambles for answers under center, fans and pundits alike are pushing a new idea. Whether the league is actually listening is a separate question entirely.
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“Nearly a decade after his last NFL game, Colin Kaepernick says he still wakes up every morning and trains as if another shot could come. The former 49ers quarterback, who turns 39 in November, tells Jemele Hill at a Detroit event that he still believes he can play in the league and is waiting for an opportunity.” FOX News posted on X.
“Hill points to Atlanta’s quarterback situation and references the city as a “Black city” while making the case for Kaepernick getting another shot. Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2016 season, when his national anthem protests became a major controversy.”
After six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, he was let go in 2017 following the protest incident. Once Kyle Shanahan took over as head coach and brought in an offense from Atlanta that didn’t seem to fit him, he opted out of his contract that March and entered free agency at the start of the new league year. However, nothing came of it.
An entire offseason and training camp went by without a single team calling. The Seattle Seahawks gave him a visit in May 2017, but that led nowhere either. Now it’s been almost ten years, and he’s still on the outside looking in.
So why is his name popping up with the Atlanta Falcons? That could just be a fun conversation, with Kaepernick looking for an opportunity. However, the comments from Kaepernick and Hill point to something real and serious. The Falcons are in trouble at quarterback, and it’s not getting better anytime soon.
Right before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Atlanta found out starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had picked up an oblique injury in practice. Michael Penix wasn’t an option either, still working his way back from a torn ACL that ended his season early last year, his third tear going all the way back to college.
That left them scrambling, and by Week 1 they were down to Cooper Rush under center.
With Tagovailoa limited in practice, Rush took the first-team reps under new head coach Kevin Stefanski. And even though Rush was dealing with back spasms of his own, Stefanski went with him over rookie Jack Strand.
It didn’t pay off. The Falcons dropped a 20-13 decision to the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, and fans are frustrated. Some are wondering why Strand didn’t get a shot, and plenty more just want to know when Penix and Tagovailoa will actually be back on the field.
As for Rush, he threw two interceptions, one of them a fourth-quarter pick-six off T.J. Watt, finishing 12 of 22 for 143 yards and a touchdown. Still, Rush didn’t hold back about how it felt just to be out there.
“I was able to get out there and play, and I was proud of that,” he said, though he admitted, “Wish I played better.”
Stefanski backed him up, saying Rush “battled” but needed more support. Nine penalties for 96 yards and two turnovers against just one forced didn’t make things any easier, even with a defense that held its own.
A Kaepernick comeback is a stretch by any measure. But if the Falcons want this quarterback situation fixed before their season gets away from them, something has to change soon.