Colin Kaepernick discusses 'unfinished business,' training for possible NFL return
Exiled NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has high hopes for playing again in the league.
The former San Francisco 49ers star spoke with "I Am Athlete" and offered a candid look into his training and discussions about free agency and his open call to all 32 NFL teams.
When asked, "Do you want to play football?" Kaepernick responded: "Absolutely. I mean, that's without question."
"What you saw here, that's five years of training behind the scenes to make sure I'm ready and stay ready at the highest level," Kaepernick said after a training session with Chad Ochocinco Johnson and Brandon Marshall. "You don't do that if you if you don't have a passion and you don't believe you're gonna find a way on that field."
Kaepernick has not thrown a pass professionally on the gridiron since Jan. 1, 2017.
"I know I have to find my way back in. OK, so yeah, if I have to come in as a backup, that's fine -- but -- that's not where I'm staying," he said.
In 2017, Kaepernick secured a meeting with the Seattle Seahawks -- a team on his short list -- but he's heard nothing in the five years since. He has reached out to various teams and participated in numerous public expeditions.
In his pursuit of a comeback, Kaepernick has trained with Seattle wide receiver Aaron Fuller and other pro players.
The now 34-year-old has asked franchises and their general managers to look at him in a new light.
"The narrative out there was, 'Oh, you know it's going to be a media circus, what else comes with him?'" Kaepernick said.
Despite helping carry the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2013, he sparked widespread debate over police brutality when he kneeled during the National Anthem, going from player to activist. Fans who disapproved of the move burned his No. 7 jersey.
In his time away from the NFL, Kaepernick has worked on rolling out a Netflix series, "Colin in Black and White," had a lucrative Nike ad and landed on the USA Today bestseller children's book list.
"You had those dreams from when you're a kid. I'm [gonna] be a NFL player and I'm gonna win a Super Bowl. And for me, I have unfinished business on that front," he said.
Watch the first look of the new interview below and see the full "I Am Athlete" episode on YouTube at noon ET.
