The Kansas City Chiefs will be among the teams in attendance for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s workout in Atlanta on Saturday, according to a new report.
The Chiefs weren’t originally listed among the 13 teams that had confirmed they would attend the workout as of Thursday. Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt did mention during his Wednesday press conference that he wouldn’t be surprised if general manager Brett Veach sent a scout for the workout.
Kansas City Star beat writers Herbie Teope and Vahe Gregorian confirmed that the Chiefs will, in fact, have a scout in attendance.
Kansas City isn’t in need of help at quarterback. They have three quarterbacks on the active roster: Patrick Mahomes, Matt Moore and Chad Henne. Plus they have Kyle Shurmur on the practice squad. It’d take a major injury or two for the Chiefs to consider adding Kaepernick.
It’s hard to see Kansas City as a team with a genuine interest in adding Kaepernick now or in the future, but there are other benefits to having a scout in attendance. Obviously, being diligent with any player that can make your team better is important. Attending as a professional courtesy to the league, which set up this unprecedented workout, is also a big factor here. At the same time, looking at players that your opponents might take interest in is also a useful tool.
Kaepernick hasn’t played since the 2016 season, during which he and then-teammate Eric Reid ignited a firestorm by kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice. This year, Kaepernick and Reid settled collusion lawsuits against the league in which they alleged they were blackballed because of their protests.
