According to those who attended Colin Kaepernick's workout in Atlanta on Saturday, the Eagles were well represented.
The Eagles could have sent a regional or a low level scout to watch Kaepernick, but instead, they sent vice president of football operations Andrew Berry, which seems noteworthy.
Andrew Berry, the Philadelphia Eagles' Vice President of Football Operations, is on site for Colin Kaepernick's NFL workout here in Atlanta. https://t.co/ubJ3gJsnpY pic.twitter.com/vOh18tdzsu — vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) November 16, 2019
On Friday, head coach Doug Pederson was asked if the Eagles would be in attendance at the workout.
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"I would assume that we would," Pederson said. "Obviously for us, we're in season so I can't be there. I'm comfortable with the guys we have, but I'm assuming that we would have somebody there."
Pederson might be comfortable with the quarterbacks the Eagles have now, but it makes sense that the Eagles would at least take a look at Kaepernick. While Carson Wentz will be in Philly for a long time, his backups - Josh McCown and Nate Sudfeld - are both set to be unrestricted free agents after this season is up.
McCown will be 41 at the beginning of the 2020 season and Sudfeld has attempted just 25 career passes. The Eagles also have Kyle Lauletta on their practice squad.
Philadelphia, more than any other NFL city, should realize how important the backup quarterback position can be. Sure, maybe Kaepernick gets a crack at a starting job, but after three years out of the league, that's certainly not a given. And the Eagles, with their progressive owner, might just be willing to sign Kaepernick despite potential backlash. Or maybe this leads nowhere.
Despite a last-minute move to a location 60 miles away from the Falcons' facility, Berry and a few representatives from other NFL teams still made it to the workout.
Only a handful of teams made it to the high school field for Kaepernick's workout. Among them: KC, Philly, Washington, SF and the Jets. There were at least two others that I've yet to confirm. ... — Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) November 16, 2019
The whole workout on Saturday was seemingly thrown together hastily and was organized by two sides that clearly have a contentious relationship. There were plenty of issues between them, including ones about the liability waiver, media availability and video footage. The move happened 15 minutes before the workout was scheduled to happen.
After the workout, Kaepernick explained why the move happened:
Colin Kaepernick made a 90 second statement before leaving pic.twitter.com/QlH2RTnLp5 — Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) November 16, 2019
The NFL on Saturday released a statement saying it was "disappointed that Colin did not appear for his workout." He didn't appear for the workout at the Falcons' facility, but the 32-year-old quarterback did appear at the high school sight in Georgia and apparently looked good.
After today's workout in Atlanta, an NFL executive at Colin Kaepernick's throwing session said his arm talent is "elite" and is the same as when he came out of college. He said that Kaepernick threw the ball well. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 16, 2019
Kap's best throw of the night, without question pic.twitter.com/WtsgumqPrH — Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) November 16, 2019
The Eagles pride themselves on searching everywhere for talent and evaluating all options. Kaepernick is certainly an option. Of course, there's a lot more to the Kaepernick story than a former Pro Bowl quarterback looking for a new team. The NFL in February settled a collusion grievance with Kaepernick and his former teammate Eric Reid. And Kaepernick hasn't played since 2016, claiming collusion after he began a series of protests over social and racial injustice in the United States. He famously kneeled during the national anthem before games.
It'll be interesting to see if this workout leads anywhere for Kaepernick or if the Eagles would actually pursue him. For the rest of this season, the Eagles are in a good spot when it comes to the quarterback position, but when this year is over, it's more questionable. That's probably why they looked at Kaepernick today.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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