Montreal Alouettes approach Colin Kaepernick about playing in CFL

Sep 28 2017, 12:34 am

After being ignored by all 32 NFL teams this year, Colin Kaepernick’s next pro football stop could be in Canada.

The Montreal Alouettes have him on their negotiation list, and admitted that they’ve reached out to the out-of-work quarterback.

“He’s in the midst of some very important things,” Alouettes GM Kavis Reed said at practice this week, reports Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette. “We understand there’s a movement going on around him. We’re doing our due diligence and making certain they know we want to see where he’s at. It’s a matter of kicking the tires at this stage.”

A veteran of six NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, mainly as a starter, Kaerpernick is still without a team. The reason is most certainly because of the political movement he started, taking a knee during the American national anthem to protest inequality of African Americans.

Should Kaepernick make the move to the CFL, he wouldn’t have the opportunity to kneel during the Star Spangled Banner because the all-Canadian league doesn’t play it before games.

The 29-year-old is obviously still good enough to play in the NFL, if not as a starter, then as a backup. Teams appear wary to sign him because because of the accompanying media distraction he comes with.

At least, that’s what I hope the reason is.

Montreal isn’t concerned about it though. They see a good quarterback that could help their team.

“To me, he’s a very good player,” Reed added. “Take all the movement stuff aside. He’s a young man that we feel has a very good football IQ. He has taken a team to a championship level. The talent’s there. As a GM, you have to look at the talent. It’s incumbent on us to explore it.”

Kaepernick’s style of play would lend itself well to the Canadian game. He’s a mobile quarterback who can roll out of the pocket to make plays. The wider CFL field would help him.

Though Kaepernick is out of the NFL for now, the movement he started is stronger than ever. Other players have taken it upon themselves to kneel or protest in other ways.

The protest was brought to another level during last weekend’s games after Donald Trump suggested that players should be fired for anthem protests on Friday.

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