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Free-agent QB Colin Kaepernick to throw in front of NFL scouts at Michigan spring game

Colin Kaepernick's pursuit of an NFL return will continue this weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Kaepernick will hold a throwing exhibition during halftime of the University of Michigan's spring game on Saturday at Michigan Stadium, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported, via the transaction wire.

Draft-eligible players will catch passes from Kaepernick, and NFL team personnel in attendance will be permitted to watch the event, Pelissero added.

Kaepernick last played in the 2016 season, in which he peacefully protested social injustice and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem. He went unsigned in the following offseason, and has since been steadily working toward finding employment in the league.

Kaepernick drew renewed interest in his services in the summer of 2020 when the NFL expressed it would welcome Kaepernick back, but left the decision up to its member clubs to sign him. No team has done so to this point, but Saturday could help draw interest in him as a free-agent addition.

Saturday will not be Kaepernick's first public workout during his time spent out of the NFL. The quarterback auditioned for interested teams in Atlanta in 2019, throwing passes to NFL veterans as representatives from as many as eight NFL teams viewed the session. Kaepernick did not sign with a team following the workout, but maintained he's ready to play for any interested club.

Kaepernick has played in 69 games in his NFL career, which began as a second-round pick out of Nevada in the 2011 draft. He took over as the 49ers starting quarterback in the 2013 season and led San Francisco to a Super Bowl appearance, where the 49ers fell to the Baltimore Ravens in the final moments of the game. That 49ers squad was coached by current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Kaepernick has completed 59.8% of his 1,692 pass attempts in his career for 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. He's thrown for over 12,000 yards in his six-year career, but hasn't been with a team in over five years.

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