Colin Kaepernick is nearing a decade of absence from the NFL. After his six-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers ended, Kaepernick has been out of the NFL since 2017 following his stance toward the national anthem, as Kaepernick opted to take a knee instead of standing — in protest of police brutality and racial injustice in America.
The 37-year-old hasn’t played a single snap since, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that he won’t do so in the future either. However, an NFL analyst predicts that he’ll return to the NFL in 2025, but as the offensive assistant of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Colin Kaepernick Predicted To Join Jim Harbaugh’s Staff With Los Angeles Chargers
During Kaepernick’s six-year tenure in San Francisco, he had his most successful seasons under head coach Jim Harbaugh, including a run to the Super Bowl in 2012.
While Harbaugh last coached Kaepernick in 2014, the two have remained close, and the current Los Angeles head coach even admitted to offering his former quarterback a position on his new staff last year.
“If that was ever the path he was to take, I think that would be tremendous,” Harbaugh said in an interview with USA Today. “He’d be a tremendous coach if that’s the path he chose.”
While no deal has been made between Harbaugh and Kaepernick for a coaching role, CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani predicts the 37-year-old will return to the NFL as a Chargers offensive assistant in 2025.
“Colin Kaepernick hasn’t given up on his NFL dream just yet, despite having not played a snap in nearly eight years. Earlier this year, new Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, who coached Kaepernick during his time with the San Francisco 49ers, said he reached out to the former quarterback about potentially joining his coaching staff.
“Our prediction is that this offseason, a 37-year-old Kaepernick returns to the NFL — as an offensive assistant for the Chargers.”
And Dajani’s prediction makes sense since Harbaugh hired one of his former players, former 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman, as the Chargers’ linebackers coach last year.
However, Kaepernick still hopes to put the uniform back on. Between 2017 and 2023, he spent as many as six days a week working out, from lifting to throwing the football, all in an attempt to resume his NFL career. But with how long he’s been away from the game and the attention his return would bring, the chances of a team signing him aren’t high.
Nonetheless, if Kaepernick has aspirations of becoming a football coach, it appears he has a job waiting for him with Harbaugh and the Chargers.
Revisiting Kaepernick’s NFL Career and Exit
Kaepernick was drafted by the 49ers with the No. 36 overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Over the course of his six-year NFL career, he threw for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions with a 59.8% completion percentage. He also rushed for 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns.
During his final NFL season, he threw for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions while rushing for 468 yards and two touchdowns. His best season came in 2013 when he threw for 3,197 yards, 21 TDs, and eight INTs while rushing for 524 yards and four TDs.
In 2012, Kaepernick led the 49ers to the Super Bowl, where San Francisco was defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, 34-31. While playing on football’s biggest stage, he threw for 302 yards, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown.
The following year, he led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the eventual Super-Bowl champions Seattle Seahawks, 23-17.
After the team hired head coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers let Kaepernick know that he was going to be released since he wasn’t a fit for the new offensive scheme. Kaepernick opted out of his contract and became a free agent, but he was never signed by another team.
He ended up filing a grievance against the NFL in Oct. 2017, accusing the league’s owners of colluding to blackball him because he kneeled during the national anthem. In Feb. 2019, he reached a settlement with the NFL and withdrew his grievance.
While Kaepernick hasn’t gotten a chance to rejoin a team as a player, perhaps he’ll get an opportunity to return to the sidelines as a coach in the near future.
