ATLANTA — Mark Geragos, attorney for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, said on CNN Saturday that he believes his client will play pro football again soon.
The quarterback, along with former teammate Eric Reid, settled a collusion lawsuit against the NFL this week. Geragos, along with the League released statements on Friday saying in part that "the parties have decided to resolve pending grievances" which would have arisen from any pending legal action. A confidentiality agreement prevents them from discussing it further.
In 2016, Kaepernick began to kneel silently during the playing of the national anthem in protest of racial injustice and systematic oppression of minorities in the United States. In subsequent weeks, Kaepernick's actions were mirrored by others, not only in the NFL, but elsewhere across the nation -- in other sports, and in other walks of life.
Following the 2016 season, Kaepernick became a free agent and went unsigned during the offseason.
Meanwhile, the movement had intensified to the point that by September 2017, President Donald Trump insisted that NFL team owners should fire players who protested the national anthem.
The president had private conversations with team owners and league management in an attempt to influence their decisions during that time period.
In November 2017, Kaepernick, filed a grievance against the League and its owners, accusing them of collusion in an effort to keep him out of the League.
Reid filed a separate, but related collusion grievance action against the NFL in late 2017, regarding his actions in support of Kaepernick.
At the time, his grievance letter alleged that individual team owners and league management, influenced by President Donald Trump, had colluded to prevent his employment due to his protest activities.
Reid had protested alongside Kaepernick, becoming the second NFL player to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
In September 2018, the Carolina Panthers signed Reid to a one-year deal, team ownership saying the signing was a football decision. Earlier this month, Reid signed a three-year contract extension with the Panthers.
On CNN, Geragos suggested that with Reid already playing for the Panthers, that Carolina was a logical place for the one-time Super Bowl quarterback to land. In addition, the attorney suggested that Kaepernick may be interested in playing for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
"The natural would be if Cam Newton is out, the natural place to be is to play with Eric [Reid] in Carolina," Geragos said.
Geragos emphasized that Kaepernick remains ready to play.
“I will tell you, he is the most fit vegan I have ever seen in my life,” Geragos said. “To my somewhat trained eye, he looks like he’s ready to play.”
So the question, at this point -- at least according to his lawyer, is not if Colin Kaepernick will return to the NFL, but when and where.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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