TORONTO — If Colin Kaepernick wants to continue his pro football career, the BC Lions have reportedly made the CFL an option for him.
TSN’s Farhan Lalji posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday evening that the Lions have added the former San Francisco 49ers pivot to their negotiation list. Each team in the CFL can claim exclusive CFL rights to up to 45 players by placing them on their negotiation lists. Players can be added, removed or traded from the list at any time.
The @BCLions have put Colin Kaepernick on their negotiation list. @SportsCentre pic.twitter.com/QT0lw8efqr
— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) September 28, 2023
Now 35, Kaepernick has been an unsigned free agent since 2017, when he opted out of his contract with the 49ers. Through six seasons and 69 career games, Kaepernick has thrown for 12,271 yards and 72 touchdowns to 30 interceptions, while rushing for 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. He led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2012.
Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2016 season, when he refused to stand for the American national anthem as a protest of police brutality and racial injustice.
Despite his considerable absence from the game, there is apparently a desire for him to continue playing.
On Tuesday, rapper J. Cole shared a letter that Kaepernick wrote to the New York Jets, asking the team to take him on as a practice roster player.
This isn’t the first time that Kaepernick has landed on a CFL team’s negotiation list. Both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes have had the quarterback on their respective lists going back to 2017.