Colin Kaepernick Says Seahawks ‘Don’t Have a Starter’ As He Eyes NFL Return

Seattle is the only franchise to formally meet with the veteran signal-caller since 2016.

Colin Kaepernick has made his intention of a return to the NFL crystal clear in recent weeks. After completing a workout during halftime of the Michigan spring game, the former 49ers quarterback conducted an at-length interview to discuss his comeback attempt. 

Speaking with Brandon Marshall, Chad Johnson and Adam "Pacman" Jones in an interview on the I Am Athlete podcast, Kaepernick expressed his willingness to return to the NFL as a backup, if that’s what it would take to get a spot in the league. However, he pointed to the Seahawks as a franchise that doesn’t have a clear starter heading into the 2022 season when recalling that Seattle was the only team to bring him in for a meeting back in 2017. 

“No team’s brought me in for a workout,” Kaepernick said on the show. “No team has brought me in for an opportunity. I had the one meeting with Seattle in 2017. And out of that, Pete Carroll said, ‘Hey, he’s a starter, we have a starter.’ And things moved on from there. But they don’t have a starter right now.”

The Seahawks traded away Russell Wilson to the Broncos in a blockbuster deal earlier this offseason, thrusting them back into the quarterback market for the first time in a decade. Seattle did receive 2019 second-round pick Drew Lock in the trade, who has played in 24 games during his first three seasons in the league.

Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since 2016. He filed a lawsuit against the NFL in 2017, alleging that owners colluded against him to keep him out of the league after he kneeled during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice and police misconduct. The league has since settled the lawsuit with Kaepernick.

Kaepernick, 34, is a career 59.8% passer and threw for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions over six seasons with the 49ers. San Francisco reached Super Bowl XLVII during the 2012 season with him under center before falling to the Ravens. Kaepernick is 28–30 as an NFL starting quarterback in the regular season.