“I gave up everything. And I’d do it again,” Colin Kaepernick stated as he announced his new memoir and manifesto on social media. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has returned to the spotlight once again after losing his NFL career. Now, prominent sports journalists have seemingly joined his side, weighing in on exactly how NFL teams formulated excuses to avoid signing Kaepernick when he became a free agent. 

“People were saying things that were just factually incorrect,” Bomani Jones said on The Right Time podcast. “In a league where there aren’t enough good quarterbacks to fill out the teams, let alone three quarterbacks on every team. [Then there’s] a quarterback that had been to a Super Bowl, all of these things: nope. Nowhere to be found on an NFL roster. Nowhere.

“We didn’t talk enough about the fact that Kyle Shanahan, a guy that could do the things Colin could do, would probably be pretty helpful in the offense that he had. Nope! Not even thinking about it! They brought in Brian Hoyer.”

“And let’s not forget Miami gave Jay Cutler what, $10 million?” Howard Bryant added. “He played five games the year before. It was anybody but him. Anybody but Colin. And that was very clear.”

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Kaepernick played his last game in the 2016 season, a year marked by his protests against racial injustice. He was a liability for the 49ers at that point, despite leading the 49ers to the playoffs in 2013. Injuries took a toll, and he finished 1-10 in 2016. At that time, Kyle Shanahan said Kaepernick did not fit the offensive scheme he wanted to run at San Francisco.

He entered free agency after that year, and later accused the NFL of colluding against him to keep him from playing. That lawsuit was settled later on, but it was reported in 2019 that Kaepernick was to work out for teams at a facility. It had fired up the chances for a comeback.

However, according to ESPN, there was a breakdown of trust between his camp and the NFL, eventually leading to Kaepernick not working out on the given date.

However, the fact that prospects with lesser potential signed deals instead of Kaepernick remains true. The Chicago Bears signed Mike Glennon with an $18.5 million guaranteed contract. Matt Barkley signed with the Cardinals, and Landry Jones signed a two-year extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kaepernick glaringly remained unsigned.

Now, Kaepernick is prepared to tell his full story. His upcoming memoir, The Perilous Fight, is set to arrive on September 15. Taking to Instagram, the former quarterback announced that he will visit 11 cities across the country to discuss the book and the off-field experiences that shaped him. 

As Colin Kaepernick prepares to release his memoir, the debate around his NFL exit remains as poignant as ever. Jones and Bryant have joined many others to highlight the league’s move.