Raiders reportedly offer Colin Kaepernick first workout since start of NFL exile

Colin Kaepernick has his best chance of returning to the NFL since his protest against social injustice effectively exiled him from the league, according to ESPN.

League sources told ESPN that the quarterback will workout for the Las Vegas Raiders later this week. He visited with the Seattle Seahawks in May 2017 but did not participate in on-field activities and was not offered a deal afterwards. The 34-year-old also threw for undrafted NFL receivers in front of scouts during a half-time session at a college football game earlier this year.

Kaepernick last played in the NFL during the 2016 season, when he knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality and social injustice. He has not played in the league after leaving the San Francisco 49ers at the end of that season, and teams are accused of blackballing him due to his political beliefs.

In an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast in April, Kaepernick pushed back on the idea that his protests were a distraction in the locker room. “That 2016 season, my last year, my teammates voted me most courageous and inspirational player,” he said. “So, when you’re talking about the people that are in the building, that has never come out that I’ve been a distraction. That’s never come out that I’ve been an issue for the people I’ve played with.”

Kaepernick has become a popular figure among progressives in American and has fronted several high-profile advertising campaigns. He says he has kept himself in shape and could also boost revenues for the league if he returned.

“So if you’re talking about the business side, it shows [it’s] beneficial,” he told the I Am Athlete podcast. “If you’re talking about the playing side, come in, let me compete. You can evaluate me