Michael Vick has not only watched Colin Kaepernick play recently, he’s also been practicing beside him.
A workout in South Florida this week featured Kaepernick, Vick and a whole crew of past and present NFL players, as well as some college and high school athletes. Following Kaepernick’s showing at the University of Michigan spring game, it reignited some thought that maybe this will be the year the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback gets a shot in the NFL.
Kaepernick has been out of the league for five years now, but Vick said Wednesday on the “Rich Eisen Show” the 34-year-old looked pretty good.
“Yeah, a lot of guys come out on Tuesdays out here in South Florida, we go to different locations to train and work out. Kap was in town, getting a workout in and thank god we had a lot of receivers and quarterbacks," Vick said. "We were able to just get together and have a little fellowship, really take two hours of our day and invest it in football and getting better and talking football and just catching up too. Colin and I had a good conversation and we talked about the past, present, future and what they look like. And he talked to a lot of guys out there, we just had a good time. I wish we could do that more often.
“He certainly looked like he was ready to play, arm was in tip-top shape, super strong and got his head on his shoulders. Really wants to get another shot at it, so if he keeps working hard it will come.”
Kaepernick has remained steadfast in his desire to make it back into the NFL. Judging by his conversations with Vick, that is, indeed, still the goal.
"We didn’t really go into detail, it was more so about when you get that opportunity, what is it going to be like," Vick said. "Are you going to appreciate it – he’s definitely going to appreciate it, it’s something that he’s certainly wanting to do. And that’s what I took away from that conversation, if football is something you really want, and when I asked him this question he just had a lot of enthusiasm and said absolutely. He works hard, he works for three hours just throwing and lining guys up and going through a routine. And that was really cool to see, as a quarterback who played the game at a high level and watching a guy who played at a high level and played in a Super Bowl. He’s been out of the game for five years, Rich, and still pushing at it and wanting another crack at it.
"I just threw some coach’s names out there that his representation could reach out to and they probably would love to talk. But at the end of the day, I’m not going to be the guy in that room who is asking questions, and I don’t know what that interview process will look like and what it will be like. But if you get that next opportunity, man, just enjoy it. Enjoy the game, enjoy playing it.”
With each passing day, Kaepernick is getting further and further from his last NFL action. He can work out as much as he wants, but game situations in the NFL are a different animal.
That is Vick's lone reservation.
“I’ll tell you one thing: Five years out, that’s my only concern,” Vick said. “I said that to him too, like five years ia a long time. But he takes care of his body, you talk about some of the things that he’s put into his body. He’s not a guy that’s out all the time, don’t drink, don’t smoke. He's in tip-top shape and you can see it. I mean, Rich, the workout was three hours, I tapped out after an hour and I started coaching."
The workout included Jarvis Landry, Kareem Hunt and David Njoku, as well as Brandon Marshall and Chad Johnson. They also could attest to Kaepernick’s ability to make it in the NFL, but Vick sounds confident that he’s ready for another opportunity.
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