Kaepernick gets Dolphins’ attention
Team will attend practice, interview session focused on Kaepernick in Atlanta
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins will attend Colin Kaepernick’s workout for NFL teams on Saturday in Atlanta, coach Brian Flores said Wednesday.
Whether Kaepernick could have a spot on the team’s roster is another issue altogether.
“I don’t have a crystal ball. It’s hard for me to say,” Flores said when asked if there is a place for the polarizing Kaepernick on the Dolphins roster.
“We like our quarterback situation right now. We’re going to do our due diligence. I would say anytime we could add a good player, we try to do that. We want to do that, but there’s a lot of moving parts to that.”
The NFL set up an on-field workout and interview session for Kaepernick, 32, at the Atlanta Falcons facility with teams around the league invited to attend. Both sessions will also be recorded for all 32 teams.
News of the workout came Tuesday afternoon. Kaepernick, who has not
played in the league for the past three years after kneeling during the national anthem to raise awareness about police brutality, social injustice and racial inequality.
While the Dolphins seem to be settled at the position this season behind 15-year veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick and second-year newcomer Josh Rosen, and have an eye toward selecting a new quarterback in the 2020 draft, Flores says the team will assess Kaepernick and proceed accordingly following his workout one day before its Week 10 game against the Buffalo Bills (6-3) at Hard Rock Stadium.
“We’ll have someone there. We’re still finalizing how [we will attend],” Flores said. “We got that information like you guys did. We’re still finalizing who [and] when.
“We’re still going through that, but we’ll have somebody there.”
According to ESPN, Kaepernick wanted the workout to occur on a Tuesday, which is the typical day NFL teams have workouts at their own facilities for prospective players, instead of Saturday, which is typically reserved for scouting college players and final adjustments to game plans for Sunday games.
Kaepernick also asked the NFL to move the workout to Nov. 23, one week from Saturday, to give NFL teams longer than the allotted three days’ notice to attend, according to the ESPN report.
Kaepernick’s workout comes roughly a month after his representation said they received “little to no response” from all 32 NFL teams regarding potential playing opportunities since Kaeparnick last played with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-16.
He and current Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid reached settlements with the NFL in February regarding their grievances against the league, which alleged collusion by teams against signing him to a contract.
“I’m just getting word from my representatives that the NFL league office reached out to them about a workout in Atlanta on Saturday,” Kaepernick posted on his Twitter account Tuesday night. “I’ve been in shape and ready for this for 3 years, can’t wait to see the head coaches and GMs on Saturday.”
The Dolphins will be among several teams who announced Wednesday they will attend Kaepernick’s workout. The Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys were among the others to announce their intention to attend.
Before the season Flores shared his support of protests first inspired Kaepernick, and continued by NFL players such as Reed, former Dolphins receiver Kenny Stills, current Dolphins receiver Albert Wilson and new Cowboys defensive end Michael Bennett. Flores said the protests — which have raised political tensions between NFL teams and President Donald Trump since 2016 — bring attention to his personal story of being a black Hispanic of Honduran descent, growing up in New York and being stopped by police for fitting a certain description.
“I’m the son of immigrants, I’m black, I grew up poor, I grew up in New York during the stop-and-frisk era, so I’ve been stopped because I fit a description before,” Flores said Aug. 22. “So everything that these guys protest, I’ve lived it. I’ve experienced it.
“So, yeah, I applaud those guys who protest.”
Flores’ comments came after he issued a challenge of sorts to Stills by playing eight Jay-Z songs before a Dolphins preseason practice. A day earlier, Stills questioned whether the rapper’s deal to handle the NFL’s entertainment and social justice ventures was lip service without actual action, or just a public relations attempt designed to shift attention from the league and its kneeling players.
Stills, who is close friends with Kaepernick, also questioned Dolphins owner Steve Ross’ fundraising event supporting Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign in August. He was eventually traded away to the Houston Texans before the start of the regular season.
“He wants to play,” Stills said of Kaepernick in September 2018. “He’s good enough to play. He deserves to play. I don’t see why a team won’t sign him or hasn’t signed him.”
Regardless of his performance at the workout, Kaepernick’s protesting could continue to be a factor in whether an NFL teams decides to sign him.
“He was a very good player,” Flores said of Kaepernick. “We’ll see what he looks like, do our due diligence and take it from there.”
Dolphins center and captain Daniel Kilgore, who played with Kaepernick in San Francisco, believes his old quarterback will be in shape, on top of his game and show that he still wants to compete in the NFL.
“I think if the league is the one who [arranged the workout], I hope there is a fair chance. I think he’d show up regardless,” Kilgore said of Kaepernick.
“He’s a competitor and he wants to compete. Somebody is going to give him a chance. Too many people out there have seen what he’s done in the past. Yeah, he’s older now, but he hasn’t taken a lot of hits in a while. His legs should be fresh.
“We’ll see. We’ll see how he does.”