Goodell: League not blackballing QB

Teams deciding ‘individually’ on signing Kaepernick.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says teams aren’t blackballing Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during the national anthem last year.

“No, teams make decisions (based) on what’s in the best interest of their team ... and they make those decisions individually,” Goodell said Thursday following his appearance at a forum with about 200 fans at the Denver Broncos’ indoor practice facility.

Kaepernick, who opted out of his contract with the 49ers on March 3, has drawn interest from Seattle and Baltimore but remains unemployed a year after throwing for 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 games. Several teams have signed lesser backups without giving Kaepernick a call.

Goodell demurred when asked if he thought Kaepernick should be in the league based strictly on his talent.

“There are other people who make those evaluations and that’s a decision that those teams all make individually,” Goodell said. “It’s not one that I would make as a commissioner.”

On other topics, Goodell said:

■ Just like the public’s view of gambling has evolved, so, too, has its view of marijuana to fight pain but the issue is a medical one.

“We’ve just proposed to our union in the last month or so that we’ll put some research money behind that to see how we can implement that if there really is these kind of advancements and it can address pain management in an effective and safe fashion,” Goodell said.

■ He doesn’t believe the restrictions on padded practices during training camp and the regular season have eroded the quality of play.

■ He doubts the government will get involved and try to regulate football like it does boxing after a recent study showed that more than 100 former NFL players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

“We need a lot more research and I think we have led the way on that,” Goodell said.

Rookie safety Jamal Adams sprained an ankle during practice and coach Todd Bowles said the severity of the injury was not immediately known — although it doesn’t appear serious.

“I’m okay,” Adams wrote

Jets:

on Twitter about an hour after practice concluded. Bowles said that Adams, the team’s first-round draft pick out of LSU, was hurt during 7-on-7 drills and sat out for the remainder of practice.

Linebacker Derrick Johnson returned to training camp after missing two workouts with a tooth abscess, while a trio of cornerbacks had to leave practice early with various injuries.

Terrance Mitchell, who could start at cornerback alongside Marcus Peters, went to the locker room on a cart with a sore hamstring. Roster long shots J.R. Nelson (groin) and Keith Baxter (wrist) also left early.

Third-year receiver Bruce Ellington was waived after a week of training camp practices under new coach Kyle Shanahan. Ellington missed all of 2016 after suffering a hamstring injury during the preseason.

Long-snapper Carson Tinker will miss the season after tearing his right ACL during non-contact work. Veteran long-snapper Matt Overton, who played the past four years for the Colts, was signed.

Agreed to a oneyear contract with veteran safety Corey Graham. The 32-year-old Graham spent the past three seasons with the Bills and played for Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in 2014.

Chiefs: 49ers: Jaguars: Eagles: