Colin Kaepernick says he’s ready to jump back into the NFL.
Speaking on Monday’s episode of I Am Athlete, Kaepernick shared his thoughts on returning to the game.
“Five years of training behind the scenes to make sure I’m ready and stay ready at the highest level. You don’t do that if you don’t have a passion and you don’t believe you’re going to find a way on that field,” Kaepernick said.
He went on to say “if I come in as a backup, that’s fine. But that’s not where I’m staying. And when I prove that I’m a starter, I want to be able to step on the field as such. I just need that opportunity to walk through the door.”
Kaepernick was then asked if he had any messages for the NFL or GMs. He responded, “let me come in and compete. I mean, you have your roster, you have your team. Let me come in and compete to show you what I can do!”
Taking the perspective of the GM, host Brandon Marshall asked Kaepernick, “How do I know if I bring you in and sign you that you’re going to make my locker room better?”
“One. You can know by experience. My coach Jim Harbaugh spoke to it. My coach Chip Kelly spoke
Marshall then asked, “Sixteen billion dollar industry, Kaep, what about our fan base? What do we say to our fan base?”
“Say you have ‘End Racism’ in the back of your end zone. You got Black Lives Matter on your helmet. Everything that I’ve said should be in alignment of what you’ve said publicly. It’s a sixteen billion dollar business. When I first took a knee, my jersey went to number one. When I did the deal with Nike their value increased by six billion dollars,” Kaepernick.
“It shows beneficial — if you’re talking about the playing side, come in let me compete. You can evaluate me from there. NFL is supposed to be a meritocracy. Come in — let me compete,” he concluded.
Listen above via I Am Athlete.