Gruden: Redskins considered working out Kaepernick, but decided against it

The Washington Redskins considered bringing in Colin Kaepernick for a workout on Tuesday, coach Jay Gruden said, as the team looks to add another quarterback to the roster following Colt McCoy’s seasonending injury Monday night, but ultimately decided against it.

Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season, when he made national headlines for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before games to call attention to the issues of racial inequality and police brutality against African-Americans. Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance against the NFL in October of 2017, alleging an organized effort to keep him off a roster as a result of his protests.

The team needs to sign a quarterback to back up Mark Sanchez, the only healthy signal-caller on the roster who was signed by the team just two weeks ago.

The Redskins are bringing in two free agent quarterbacks for a workout late Tuesday afternoon, and will compare them to the group that worked out after Alex Smith suffered a season-ending leg injury Nov. 18 against the Texans.

Gruden, who said that the decision to not bring Kaepernick in for a workout was made for football reasons only, said Kaepernick had been “discussed, for sure,” but that his skill set didn’t match what they needed in a quarterback being picked up five days before the team’s next game.