WATCH: Colin Kaepernick throws, participates in drills at Michigan spring game
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has not played an NFL snap since 2016, took the next step in his comeback attempt on Saturday, throwing in front of a live audience at Michigan.
Kaepernick last appeared in the NFL as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, then coached by Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh, now the head coach at Michigan, brought his former quarterback to campus, named him the honorary captain for Saturday’s Maize and Blue Game and invited him to throw in front of a live audience at halftime.
Kaepernick started with short throws, then medium throws and finally progressed to deep throws down the middle. Using seven free-agent and former receivers, Kaepernick displayed good velocity and accuracy, and timing was seamless, despite having just met many of the wide receivers.
Kaepernick, 34, did not receive any invites from NFL teams to participate in on-site workouts, despite publicly announcing his hopes at making a comeback. In 2016, his final NFL season, he began what later became a popular protest, kneeling during the national anthem.
A former second-round pick, Kaepernick still holds the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game (181 yards in January of 2013) and most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single postseason (264 yards in January of 2013). Kaepernick was on the 49ers for six seasons, starting 58 games, and he amassed a 28-30 record as a starting quarterback, while also leading the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens.
Kaepernick recently posted a video of him working out on Twitter, along with the caption, “still working.” In a subsequent tweet, ESPN’s Schefter provided an update on Kaepernick’s hopeful return to the NFL.
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“(Kaepernick is) in the best shape of his life,” Schefter wrote. “He wants to play. He’s ready play. He would be a great fit for teams with QB vacancies to fill who want to win a Super Bowl.”
In 58 career starts, Kaepernick holds a 59.8 completion percentage, while throwing 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. Meanwhile, Kaepernick showed off his mobility with the 49ers, rushing for 2,300 yards in 375 carries, including 13 touchdown carries. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kaepernick was selected with the 36th-overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, as the San Francisco 49ers took him off the board in the second round, and he later made his debut as a starting quarterback following a near-career-ending injury to then-starting quarterback Alex Smith.
Kaepernick’s best two seasons, statistically speaking, came in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, he threw for 3,197 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions, holding a 58.4 percent completion rate, while rushing for 524 yards and four touchdowns. The following year, in 2014, he threw for 3,369 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on a 60.5 completion percentage, and he rushed for 639 yards and a touchdown. Kaepernick suffered injuries towards the end of his tenure with the 49ers, notably undergoing thumb surgery, a knee procedure and a shoulder procedure following a tough 2015 campaign. He was eventually replaced in San Francisco by Blaine Gabbert, and he never signed another NFL contract.
In college, Kaepernick was a two-time WAC Offensive Player of the Year, becoming one of Nevada’s most decorated quarterbacks. He was an unranked recruit coming out of high school.