Colin Kaepernick’s letter to Jets general manager Joe Douglas was released by rapper J. Cole on Tuesday.
In it, the former NFL quarterback listed multiple reasons as to why he thought he was a good fit to join New York’s practice squad following their loss of Aaron Rodgers to a torn Achilles in Week 1 of the 2023 season.
The release of the letter comes after Kaepernick’s agent reportedly reached out to the Jets about him joining the team following New York’s opening game due to the likelihood that Rodgers would miss the remainder of the year.
J. Cole has released Colin Kaepernick's letter to the Jets requesting to join their practice squad 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Kjn3af3u9G
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 26, 2023
Kaepernick notes that unlike some other veteran quarterbacks thrown into the conversation as possible options for the Jets, he has not retired from the league, despite not playing since 2016. That year, he began kneeling during pregame performances of the national anthem to protest police brutality and racism in the United States. The protests set off a chain of events that culminated with Kaepernick filing a grievance against, and eventually settling with, the NFL for colluding to keep him unsigned.
The release of Kaepernick’s letter, shared on Instagram by J. Cole with permission from the quarterback, comes after the Jets signed a different veteran signal-caller, Trevor Siemian, to their practice squad on Tuesday.
In the meantime, Zach Wilson remains the Jets’ starter for the 2023 season, despite a rocky showing since a come-from-behind win in the season opener. Wilson has lost both starts since Rodgers went down and has posted an average quarterback rating of 26.7 in those appearances.
