UPDATE (3:30 p.m. ET): The Patriots will be represented at Colin Kaepernick’s workout, a league source told The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.
ORIGINAL STORY:
FOXBORO, Mass. — Free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick will hold a private workout in front of NFL teams Saturday in Atlanta, but Bill Belichick doesn’t know if his New England Patriots will be in attendance.
At least that’s what the Patriots head coach claimed Wednesday.
“That’s something to check with Nick (Caserio) on,” Belichick said. “I’m not sure.”
According to The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride, the Patriots will, in fact, have a representative in attendance.
Caserio is the Patriots’ director of player personnel. NESN.com reached out to the Patriots for comment from Caserio, who isn’t regularly made available to the media.
Belichick also deferred to Caserio this season when asked if the Patriots had been active at the NFL trade deadline.
The Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions have both said they’ll be in attendance Saturday. Lions head coach Matt Patricia and Dolphins head coach Brian Flores both are Belichick disciples. Patricia was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator before being hired by the Dolphins in 2018. Flores was the Patriots’ linebackers coach and defensive play-caller before being hired by the Dolphins this season.
Kaepernick has been out of the NFL since 2016 when he protested social injustice by kneeling during the national anthem before games. He completed 59.2 percent of his passes for 2,241 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 12 games in 2016. He led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2012, his first season as a starter. The 49ers went back to the NFC Championship Game under Kaepernick in 2013.
The Patriots don’t have an immediate need for a quarterback with starter Tom Brady, rookie backup Jarrett Stidham and veteran third-stringer Cody Kessler on the roster. Brady is in the final year of his contract, however. The Patriots host free-agent workouts nearly every week during the regular season, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they went out of due diligence.
