Colin Kaepernick to NFL Scouts: 'Tell Your Owners to Stop Being Scared'

Colin Kaepernick held a workout in front of a limited group of NFL scouts after moving the location of the event on Saturday afternoon.

Following his throwing portion, Kaepernick talked with scouts and thanked them for attending his workout. While speaking with scouts from the Jets, Chiefs and Redskins, the quarterback asked them to pass along a message to the franchises' owners.

"When you go back, tell your owners to stop being scared," he said, per The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue.

Kaepernick also addressed the media to thank them for coming and say he is waiting to hear from a team to sign him.

"Our biggest thing with everything today was making sure we had transparency with what went on. We weren't getting that elsewhere so we came out here," he said. "I've been ready for three years. I've been denied for three years."

He added, "We're waiting for the 32 owners, 32 teams, Roger Goodell, all of them to stop running. To stop running from the truth. To stop running from the people. Around here we're ready to play. We're ready to go anywhere."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports one NFL team executive in attendance described Kaepernick's arm as "elite" and said he threw the ball well.

Kaepernick was set to work out at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday in front of personnel from 24 NFL teams at the Falcons' training facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. However, 30 minutes before the event was set to start, his representatives said the event was being moved to Charles Drew High School in Riverdale, which is located over an hour away from the Falcons' facility.

Kaepernick's representatives said they moved the workout because the NFL denied media access and his request to have an independent film crew "there to ensure transparency."

The NFL released a statement later in the day saying it didn't hear until Saturday that Kaepernick wanted media in attendance. The league also added that it approved his request to bring his own receivers and have Nike film an ad at the workout.

According to ESPN's Howard Bryant, the NFL told Kapernick's team ahead of the workout that there would be no media access and it was unclear who his receivers would be. The quarterback was "uncomfortable" with this and flew in receivers at his own expense. When the NFL reportedly suggested Kaepernick's team couldn't film anything, his camp worried about the league being the only one with access to the footage.

The two sides also reportedly disagreed on a waiver. Bryant reports the league asked Kaepernick to sign a waiver promising he wouldn't sue the NFL if he went unsigned after the workout. Kaepernick's team reportedly responded with a standard injury form.

The NFL first announced Kaepernick's workout on Tuesday, but his camp was upset about the event being scheduled the day before Sunday, meaning team executives would likely not travel to Atlanta. Former Browns coach Hue Jackson was asked to lead. 

After Kaepernick and his representatives decided to move locations and hold the workout on their own, only six teams sent scouts to watch.

Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season when he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality. He opted out of his contract with the 49ers in March 2017 and later filed a grievance against the NFL in October of that year with former teammate Eric Reid. The two sides reached a settlement in February 2019.