Tom Brady Hopes Colin Kaepernick Receives an Opportunity for NFL Contract

Todd Kirkland/Associated Press

Colin Kaepernick worked out for NFL teams on Saturday, and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said he hoped the former San Francisco 49ers signal-caller gets another chance to play in the NFL. 

“Like I said, it's great that he got an opportunity. Hopefully he makes the most of it,” Brady said Monday on the Greg Hill Morning Show, per Ryan Hannable of WEEI. “Hopefully he gets an opportunity. That's kind of how I feel. I like Colin.”

Kaepernick's workout on Saturday served as much of a public relations battle between the NFL and the quarterback as anything else. The 32-year-old, unhappy with the conditions the league set up, ditched the NFL's workout and staged his own. 

One of the major issues was the waiver the league asked Kaepernick to sign ahead of the workout:

Michael McCann @McCannSportsLaw

Per Eric Reid, the NFL demanded that Colin Kaepernick sign a unique waiver that “relinquished his employment rights” instead of a standard waiver. If Reid's accurate, suggests NFL wanted Kaepernick to give up legal rights to pursue grievances or lawsuits that other players enjoy. https://t.co/YGespg46IJ

Omar Kelly @OmarKelly

And this contract was specifically written for Colin Kaepernick…..it isn’t standard. https://t.co/vgR2uV3eDn

Jane McManus @janesports

It’s a legitimate question to ask if Kaepernick was given the standard injury waiver and, if not, why not? If language was inserted or changed, what was the purpose? https://t.co/LPE0vIuZP7

mike freeman @mikefreemanNFL

The NFL tried to pull a fast one.
Do people finally understand why Colin nixed the workout and was right to do so? https://t.co/1X1wdAITRO

But the issues didn't end there, as Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal outlined: 

“The NFL then balked at a different waiver proposed by Kaepernick’s lawyer at the last minute, deeming it inadequate, and his team's request to make the workout open to the media for transparency. Along the way, Nike—both an NFL sponsor and prominent Kaepernick endorser—was caught in the middle of the rancor.

“So Kaepernick staged his own workout at an Atlanta-area high school in front of cameras and reporters. Eight teams came, versus the 25 who were to attend the league-sanctioned workout.”

The event seemed ill-fated from the jump. Namely, holding it on a Saturday, when many scouts and executives would be attending college games, was a bizarre choice by the NFL. The perception from Kaepernick supporters was the NFL was hosting the event for public relations purposes, so they could say Kaepernick got his workout with NFL teams after receiving no interest from teams over the past three years.

Jourdan Rodrigue @JourdanRodrigue

Eric Reid speaking. He says Saturday was everything he hoped it would be re. destroying false narratives about Colin Kaepernick. Says the NFL made the event a “PR circus”. Repeats Kaepernick requested transparency and was turned down.

As for the workout itself, the consensus seemed to be that Kaepernick still has excellent arm strength and athleticism, though he lacked some touch and accuracy on some of his passes. That would jibe with the player he was during his six-season NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers.

Albert Breer @AlbertBreer

And I should say, the same guy physically. Obviously, there's plenty that you can't ascertain about him football-wise in that sort of setting. https://t.co/zcERoNoBgW

Ian Rapoport @RapSheet

The https://t.co/iLSuC0HswN story on Colin Kaepernick’s workout has been updated with reaction from four high-ranking evaluators who viewed it. Here is a breakdown: https://t.co/DqcvDWfRgJ https://t.co/PaDUz4WJzB

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It's hard to imagine that there isn't at least one team who could use Kaepernick. After all, consider some of the mediocre quarterbacks who have gotten snaps this season: Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mitchell Trubisky, Eli Manning, Josh Rosen, Matt Schaub, Jeff Driskel, Chase Daniel, Luke Falk, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Finlay and Matt Barkley, to name a few. 

On talent alone, Kaepernick, a former second-round draft pick who led the Niners to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII, deserves another shot in the NFL. Even players like Brady acknowledge as much. But given the distrust between the league and Kaepernick, his return to the NFL continues to feel like a long shot.