Ten years away from professional football is the figure framing the latest public case for Colin Kaepernick. At the Black Footwear Forum in Detroit on Saturday, Kaepernick told Jemele Hill he wakes up every morning still training as though active in the NFL and that his opportunity in the league remains open. Hill agreed and named the Atlanta Falcons as the team that should sign him to start now.
Atlanta opened Week 1 with Cooper Rush at quarterback following injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix. Rush has appeared every season since 2021, almost always as injury cover. On Sunday, in a 20-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he went 12-of-22 for 143 yards.
| Rush, Week 1 (reported) | |
|---|---|
| Completions/attempts | 12/22 |
| Passing yards | 143 |
| Touchdowns | 1 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Result | Atlanta 13, Pittsburgh 20 |
Hill framed Atlanta as a "Black city" and cited the Rush situation as reason enough to act. Neither she nor Kaepernick took questions from the audience, a format Hill chose. She did not press Kaepernick on the specifics of the gap between a training regimen and active professional competition.
What the decade gap means on a roster
Kaepernick turns 39 in November. No quarterback re-enters professional football after a 10-year absence and performs at a level that justifies a starting designation. OutKick, which attended the forum, argued that NFL teams passed on Kaepernick in earlier years for a reason separate from the kneeling controversy: his public profile had grown into a distraction at a level his on-field production did not match.
Signing him as a backup carries a specific cost. Cutting or benching a backup typically attracts minimal scrutiny. The same move with Kaepernick would carry different consequences, OutKick contended, ones that no front office absorbs quietly. Hill is aware the Falcons will almost certainly not act. The suggestion earns its value from that gap: it runs on Threads, Bluesky, and similar platforms and requires no follow-through. Atlanta's actual quarterback problem is Rush's two interceptions against Pittsburgh on Sunday. Kaepernick, at 39 and 10 years removed, is not the answer the math supports.
Related reading
- Twenty-point deficit erased: Arch Manning leads Texas Longhorns past No. 1 Ohio State
- Over $40 million per program, 1,234 miles: Ohio State arrives in Austin for a Texas rematch with playoff stakes
- Fan brawl inside Los Angeles Cosm theater surfaces as immersive venue prices run 6.9x the stadium gate
- Sophie Cunningham consulted Adam Silver on WNBA commissioner search, wants players-first approach