Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick told Miriam Walker-Khan of Sky Sports recently that he was still hoping to return to play in the NFL someday.
While his dream of appearing under center more than seven-and-a-half years since his last NFL snap seems unrealistic, there may be a way for the 36-year-old to make a comeback in some capacity.
In an interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, Los Angeles Chargers first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh said that he would like to have Kaepernick on the team. Harbaugh envisions having the Milwaukee native on the sideline with a headset rather than a helmet, however.
“If that was ever the path he was to take, I think that would be tremendous,” Harbaugh said, per Bell. “He’d be a tremendous coach, if that’s the path he chose.”
Kaepernick told Walker-Khan that he was “still training” and if he were to make it back to the NFL, it would be a “major moment” and a “major accomplishment” for him. He added that he still believed he could “bring a lot to a team and help them win a championship.”
It’s been well over half a decade now since Kaepernick stepped foot on an NFL field.
He spent his entire six-year career with the Niners from 2011-16, including the first four seasons playing under Harbaugh. Kaepernick and Harbaugh led San Francisco to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens and an NFC Championship Game berth the following season.
The mobile threat played 75 games in his career with his last contest coming in Week 17 of the 2016 campaign when his Niners lost to the Seattle Seahawks 25-23 on New Year’s Day 2017.
He sparked controversy during the 2016 campaign with his on-field political statements in kneeling during the pregame national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Kaepernick then went unsigned through the summer entering the 2017 season amid allegations that he was being blackballed.
The University of Nevada product filed a grievance against the league during the fall of 2017, accusing league owners of colluding to keep him out of the NFL, but later withdrew the grievance in February 2019 after reaching a confidential settlement with the league.
Harbaugh told Bell that soon after becoming the Chargers head coach in January, he talked with Kaepernick about joining the team in a non-playing role.
“Yeah, we talked a little bit about it,” Harbaugh said. “He’s considering it. He was out of the country. He said he was going to get back to me. We haven’t reconnected since then. That was early, early in the year.”
With their long history, the former Michigan head coach clearly still has close ties to the former signal-caller-turned civil rights activist.
Harbaugh told Bell that Kaepernick is “one of (his) favorite players (he’s) ever coached” and saw the former second-round pick as a “hero.”
As for ever seeing Kaepernick taking snaps on the gridiron again, it still seems like the opportunity has passed.
