There’s a possibility of Colin Kaepernick joining the Chargers. But it likely won’t be to play quarterback.
Upon returning to the NFL coaching ranks, Jim Harbaugh asked Kaepernick if he’d like to join the team in a “non-playing capacity.”
“Yeah, we talked a little bit about it,” Harbaugh said, per USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. “He’s considering it. He was out of the country. He said he was going to get back to me. We haven’t reconnected since then. That was early, early in the year.”
Recently, Kaepernick expressed his desire to play in the NFL again. But Harbaugh believes he’d be better suited as a coach now.
“If that was ever the path he was to take, I think that would be tremendous,” Harbaugh said. “He’d be a tremendous coach, if that’s the path he chose.”
The Chargers staff includes three of Harbaugh’s former players from when he was the head coach of the 49ers (NaVorro Bowman, Jonathan Goodwin and Will Tukuafu).
Harbaugh was asked if he would bring Kaepernick in and give him the opportunity to play again, but he declined to comment when the question was asked.
“I mean, it’s something I’ve trained my whole life for,” Kaepernick told Sky Sports of a potential return. “So to be able to step back on the field would be a major moment, a major accomplishment for me.”
Kaepernick was drafted in Harbaugh’s first season in San Francisco. The following season, they played in Super 47, where they lost to Jim’s brother, John, and his Ravens. They made the NFC Championship game in 2013.
Amid Justin Herbert’s plantar fascia injury and the current quarterback struggles, it wouldn’t be surprising if Harbaugh has considered bringing in Kaepernick for a workout.
