Colin Kaepernick, who last played professional football in 2016 -- the year he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice -- worked out Wednesday for the Las Vegas Raiders, a league source told US.
It marked Kaepernick's first workout with an NFL team since being exiled, and it was the first time the former star quarterback visited with a team since he flew to Seattle to meet with the Seahawks in May 2017, before they passed on the opportunity to sign him.
Kaepernick played at the University of Nevada, Reno, the only school to offer him a scholarship.
Currently, the pro team in Nevada is the only one in the NFL that has given the civil rights activist another opportunity.
Raiders owner Mark Davis is following in the spirit of his late father, Al Davis, who provided many opportunities, such as hiring the NFL's first Black head coach (Art Shell) and its first woman chief executive (Amy Trask) in the modern era.
The elder Davis also was the first team owner to draft a Black quarterback (Eldridge Dickey) in the first round and the second team owner to hire a Hispanic head coach, Tom Flores.
The NFL had said it encouraged teams to take a look at Kaepernick. But not only has Kaepernick not signed a contract with any team, he also hasn't received a workout until the one he had Wednesday.
Mark Davis told ESPN's Paul Gutierrez in June 2020 that he would give his "blessing" if the Raiders' front office or coaches wanted to add Kaepernick.