Colin Kaepernick is about to start his fourth consecutive NFL season as a free agent.
The former 49ers quarterback is reportedly in good physical shape, but no team has been willing to go further than hosting him for a workout since he and San Francisco parted ways following the 2016 season.
NBC Sports' Peter King asked NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who recently apologized publicly to Kaepernick for the league's lack of support in his protest against police violence, if he was "dispirited" that no team had signed Kaepernick.
"Those are club decisions," he said. "I've encouraged teams to evaluate that and sign him if they feel that's the case. I'm happy if Kaep gets an opportunity but that's, you know ... Teams don't usually ask me for advice on football hires."
Notably, Goodell referred to "club decisions" and "teams" rather than owners, who are effectively his bosses.
Goodell also said the league planned to support players if they choose to kneel for the national anthem this season in protest of racial injustice like Kaepernick did in 2016. The NFL is expected to play "Lift E'vry Voice And Sing," known as the Black national anthem, before "The Star Spangled Banner" ahead of all Week 1 games.
Meanwhile, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote Monday roasting teams for neglecting to even take a flyer on Kaepernick, pointing out the Eagles' signing of 41-year-old Josh McCown as a remote emergency quarterback.
He suggested a number of teams could use Kaepernick in a similar role, pointing to the Patriots based on their offense under Cam Newton and even San Francisco's greatest rival, the Seahawks, who arranged and then canceled a workout with Kaepernick in 2018.
Kaepernick went through an NFL-organized workout last November, but did not receive calls from any teams after changing the venue on the day of the workout.
