Colin Kaepernick’s NFL Return: Goodell Welcomes Kaep Back?!

In yet another surprising 2020 twist, could we see the NFL return of Colin Kaepernick? By the sounds of it, Kaep could be back…

In an interview with ESPN, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated:

“Well, listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it’s going to take a team to make that decision. But I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that.”

This is a far cry from the sentiments of yesteryears. It been almost four years since we’ve seen Kaep suit up and hit the field. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback hasn’t played since 2016 when he began kneeling as a peaceful protest against police brutality and racial injustice. At the time, he was shunned by the league and even called a “son of a bitch” by the president.

Trump: NFL owners should tell players who kneel to "get that son of a bitch off the field right now." pic.twitter.com/eUYtJgNixK

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 23, 2017

But now, at least Goodell seems to have a change of heart — and it only took more police brutality, public outcry, and global civil unrest. Just two weeks ago, after the league released what many felt was a hypocritical statement in which they claimed to be “committed to continuing the important work to address these systemic issues…”, Roger caught major flack and realized that empty statement would never be enough. He then went on to publicly apologize for “not listening to players earlier,” however he never mentioned Kaep by name.

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We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange

A post shared by NFL (@nfl) on Jun 5, 2020 at 3:31pm PDT

This more direct, yet still somewhat empty, apology caused folks to ask the next natural question — does this mean Colin can return to the league? Everyone from Jada Pinkett Smith to Snoop Dogg were voicing their support for Kaep’s return…

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#JadaPinkettSmith asking the question we all want to know … #NFL #ColinKaepernick (view previous post)

A post shared by HIPHOLLYWOOD (@hiphollywood) on Jun 6, 2020 at 6:04am PDT

@jemelehill says the @nfl will eventually have to admit that what they did to @Kaepernick7 was a disgrace. #PoliticsNation pic.twitter.com/7MtyuZCu0d

— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) June 13, 2020

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P. S. A. N. F. L. Owners 🤬🤬🇺🇸🇺🇸complete silence W. T. F.

A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on Jun 11, 2020 at 6:44am PDT

And Colin himself, has stayed ready the whole time, continuing his workouts and maintaing the momentum he showed during his 2019 NFL workout which unfortunately yielded no results.

So is now finally the time? Will we see Colin Kaepernick on an NFL team in 2020? That obviosuly remains to be seen, but this is the closest he’s been since 2016.