The NFL season is already a few weeks old at this point and Colin Kaepernick remains a free agent.
The Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League reportedly have reached out to the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, but according to a report from Pro Football Talk, that’s for a reason:
The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL say they have reached out to Kaepernick’s agent but did not receive a reply. A source close to Kaepernick told PFT that Kaepernick is not interested in playing Canadian football.
Fans around the NFL landscape may have strong differing opinions on Kaepernick, but up north in Montreal the fans are said to be “dreaming” about the possibility of adding him to the roster.
Montreal has placed Kaepernick on their negotiations list, which means the team has exclusive rights to work out a deal with Kaepernick to play in the CFL if he chooses to do so. It’s sort of like a mix between free agency and the draft for imported players.
“To me, he’s a very good player. Take all the movement stuff aside,” Montreal general manager Kavis Reed said to the Montreal Gazette. “He’s a young man that we feel has a very good football IQ. He has taken a team to a championship level. The talent’s there. As a GM, you have to look at the talent. It’s incumbent on us to explore it.”
Reed was referring to Kaepernick leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl, and nearly winning it. Regardless of his ability to play or not play in the NFL, he would likely be an instant hit in the CFL where the overall level of quarterback play is lower than the standards in the NFL. Plus with all of the extra open field, he could likely do plenty of damage as a running threat.
If anything, this is another sign that there are scouts from at least some professional teams who think Kaepernick can still play football at a fairly high level, casting further suspicion on why he remains unsigned by an NFL team.
