Getty Image / Austin McAfee
In case you missed it on Saturday evening, Colin Kaepernick held a workout at a high school in Riverdale, Georgia.
The original workout was planned to be held at the Atlanta Falcons practice facility, but Kaepernick didn’t like the language of a liability claim the NFL asked him to sign nor the fact the media wasn’t given the chance to be transparent during the workout. So, they moved it to a high school outside of Atlanta so it could be streamed on YouTube.
Kaepernick pretty much threw to every sort of route imaginable, including some deep balls, to a handful of free-agent wide receivers. He completed the entire workout with no pads, helmet or a single defender on the field.
Nevertheless, Panthers’ safety and good friend of Kaepernick’s, Eric Reid thought he looked elite. He was in attendance for the workout as well.
“The goal was accomplished,” said Reid, wearing a black No. 7 Kaepernick jersey. “He proved he can play this game. He proved he can throw the ball. Elite. That’s what an NFL executive said.”
“He’s been working out every day for three years,” Reid told ESPN. “Can you imagine the mental fortitude it takes to stay in shape for three years while somebody is blackballing you for you wanting to stand up for people who have been wronged?”
Reid’s claim about an NFL executive saying Kaepernick was elite in his workout was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter shortly afterward.
The argument some have thrown out there that Kaepernick’s workout against air was just like an NFL combine setting, again, against air, is a valid one in some sense but then again we’re talking about a 32-year-old quarterback that hasn’t played since New Years Day of 2017.
It shouldn’t be all that surprising a former NFL quarterback still has the arm to hit wide-open receivers against air on an empty high school field. The test for Kaepernick is whether or not he can still play at the speed of the NFL with 11 defenders’ eyes on him at all times. An NFL team will have to sign him, however, for him to be given a shot at that test.
Stephen A. Smith took to Twitter and went on a lengthy rant about how the entire workout was just a way for Kaepernick to prove he’s nothing but ‘a martyr.’
He doesn't want to play. pic.twitter.com/ZuSI1IVW9r
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) November 17, 2019
Reid later took to Twitter to respond to Smith and the two got into a pretty heated argument about the situation.
The latest news is that Kaepernick nor his agent have heard from an NFL team.
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Mark is a New York City-based writer and editor at BroBible. You can find him on Twitter @MarkAndHisWords.