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Colin Kaepernick has been handed over but once more.
Rapper J. Cole posted on Instagram to share a letter he mentioned Kaepernick despatched to New York Jets normal supervisor Joe Douglas. Within the letter, dated Sept. 21, Kaepernick asks for the chance to affix the crew’s apply squad as a “risk-free contingency plan” behind beginning quarterback Zach Wilson.
“I might be honored and intensely grateful for the chance to return in and lead the apply squad,” Kaepernick wrote. “I might do that with the only mission of getting your protection prepared every week.”
That chance was given to a different veteran quarterback, Trevor Siemian, who was added to the Jets apply squad Tuesday. Siemian has performed for 4 NFL groups since being drafted within the seventh spherical by the Denver Broncos in 2015 and is 13-17 as a starter. He made one begin throughout a 2019 stint with the Jets, however suffered a season-ending ankle damage throughout that sport and moved on as a free agent the next offseason. He participated in coaching camp with the Cincinnati Bengals this summer season however was launched in late August.
“He’s clearly obtained a number of video games underneath his belt,” Jets coach Robert Saleh instructed reporters of Siemian on Wednesday. “He’s a fast learner, fast examine from my understanding. So simply giving him the power to return on the apply squad and assist us out was one of the best resolution for us.”
Kaepernick, 35, was the San Francisco 49ers’ beginning quarterback in Tremendous Bowl XLVII following the 2012 season and led the crew again to the NFC championship sport the following yr. He turned a civil rights icon in 2016 by refusing to face for the nationwide anthem earlier than video games and opted out of his contact with the 49ers the next offseason.
He hasn’t obtained one other job within the NFL since then. In October 2017, Kaepernick filed a collusion grievance arguing that NFL groups had blackballed him due to his protests. He and the NFL reached an settlement to resolve the grievance in February 2019.
Kaepernick instructed Douglas in his letter that he “by no means retired or stopped coaching.”
“I’m certain of my skill to offer you an elite QB choice if, God forbid, QB1 goes down,” Kaepernick wrote. “Nevertheless, I do know that there could naturally be uncertainties from you and presumably from others about my enjoying skills. This plan, I consider, permits me to be of nice service to the crew as a apply squad QB, whereas additionally providing you with a low-commitment likelihood to evaluate my capabilities to assist in some other capability you may even see match.”
The Occasions reached out to the Jets for a remark from Douglas on the matter and didn’t obtain an instantaneous response.
Wilson wasn’t imagined to be the crew’s beginning quarterback this yr. He has struggled since being drafted second general in 2021, and the Jets acquired four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers from the Inexperienced Bay Packers in the course of the offseason. However Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon damage simply minutes into the opening sport.
The Jets opted not to herald a veteran quarterback within the instant aftermath, leaving Wilson and Tim Boyle, who’s 0-3 as a starter throughout his four-year profession, as the one different wholesome sign callers on the roster. They apparently modified their minds after Wilson delivered lackluster performances in losses to the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 14 and to the New England Patriots on Sunday.
