Since Colin Kaepernick parted ways with the San Francisco 49ers this offseason, only one team has brought him in for a visit: the Seattle Seahawks.
While Seattle didn't end up signing the free-agent quarterback, choosing to bring in Austin Davis to pair with backup Trevone Boykin, Seahawks general manager John Schneider had no doubts regarding Kaepernick's willingness to play football this season.
"He is committed to football, there's no question about it," Schneider said on Monday's edition of Inside Training Camp Live. "The thing that maybe is a misconception is he's a really, really nice man and he has his thoughts, he has his plan and it's one of those things where it's right time, right fit and I'm sure he's going to find it."
Schneider isn't the first GM outside of his division to confirm Kaepernick's commitment to the game. 49ers general manager John Lynch said the same thing in late June.
Kaepernick, who kneeled during the national anthem during games in 2016 to raise awareness for social injustices, left the Seahawks facility without a deal in early June and has since been connected to the Ravens and Dolphins, whose starting quarterbacks suffered mid-camp injuries. Baltimore dove into the camp-arm market to provide depth for Joe Flacco and his addled back. Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said last week his team is still determining whether or not to sign Kaepernick.
Miami, on Monday, signed retired quarterback Jay Cutler to a one-year deal to beat out Matt Moore and fill in for Ryan Tannehill, who is out for an undetermined amount of time after injuring his knee last week.
Many of the better starting and backup quarterback jobs in the NFL are no longer vacant, but Schneider believes that Kaepernick will find his way onto an NFL roster this year somehow.
"Yeah, I think he does play," Schneider said. "I don't think anyone else brought him in but we were doing our due diligence. We had a great visit with him. I think he plays in the league.
"There is just a lot that surrounds it when he's a backup quarterback. Now, if he's a guy out there competing to be a starter, I think that's a different situation. For us, we try to be in every situation we possibly can. Pete [Carroll] and I talked about it for a long time. We wanted to be able to sit down and visit with him and go through the process with him knowing we know exactly who he is, exactly where he stands and we can go to him if needed."
