Reports emerge on Seahawks decision to postpone workout with Colin Kaepernick

People have been waiting for solid Colin Kaepernick-related signing news for over a year now, ever since he parted ways with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 and is yet to sign a single NFL contract, and the Seattle Seahawks seemed a natural fit. The Seahawks already had a preeminent social activism figure with Michael Bennett, who was protesting during the national anthem last season, and they have a need for a quality backup to Russell Wilson; Kaepernick could become the most talented backup QB in the NFL and seems as capable as any potential backup to run the same system as Wilson, but the two sides could not come to an agreement when they met last year and Seattle has apparently postponed a scheduled upcoming workout with the 30-year-old QB. This could have been for any number of reasons, including a difference of opinion on what Kaepernick is worth, and if he even wanted to sign somewhere without a chance to compete to start, but on Thursday reports from several sources emerged citing different theories on why the two sides are not meeting like they planned to.

ESPN’S Adam Schefter says that it was because Kaepernick said he’d continue to kneel during the national anthem in 2018. This would be rather significant news both for Kaepernick (previous reports said that he would no longer protest before games) and the Seahawks (who supported players protesting in the past). But the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport had a slightly different story:

Rapoport corroborated the report that the Seahawks postponed a scheduled workout with Kaepernick, but said it was because they wanted him to have a “plan moving forward on how to handle everything” and that he didn’t have a firm plan.

It does seem that in both cases, Kaepernick is not willing to make a firm commitment that he won’t sit or kneel during the national anthem next season. In both cases, it seems that the Seahawks do find it important to know what a free agent’s “plans” are in that regard. In any case, they still have a need for a backup QB and Kaepernick is still a free agent.