#Chargers add Colin Kaepernick to workout list: ‘Crazy not to’

At least one coach may be taking Roger Goodell’s statement on Colin Kaepernick seriously.

Two days after the NFL commissioner encouraged teams to sign the free agent quarterback and face of the national anthem kneeling controversy, Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said Kaepernick was on his team’s workout list and would be a good fit for his offense.

“He fits the style of quarterback that we want,” Lynn told reporters Wednesday, adding that he has not yet reached out to Kaepernick.

Lynn said “it would be crazy not to have him on your workout list.”

“We’re happy with the three quarterbacks that we want but you can’t have enough on the runway,” Lynn said.

After parting ways with longtime signal-caller Philip Rivers this offseason, the Chargers’ quarterback depth chart is comprised of Oregon’s Justin Herbert, the team’s first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, veteran Tyrod Taylor and 2019 fifth-rounder Easton Stick.

Kaepernick, 32, opted out of a contract with the 49ers in 2017 after the then-new San Francisco management said they would release the dual-threat quarterback.

No teams have taken a shot on Kaepernick since, but the police killing of George Floyd and the ensuing protests of police brutality and systemic racism — both of which were at the center of Kaepernick’s kneeling protest — has brought the former second-round pick back into the NFL spotlight.

Goodell earlier this month “admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest,” without mentioning Kaepernick’s name. This week, however, Goodell supported teams signing Kaepernick.

It remains to be seen whether Lynn — who is one of just three black head coaches in the NFL — will be the one to sign Kaepernick.

A few weeks earlier, Lynn told the Los Angeles Times that he wanted to do something that will drive actual change.

“I think statements are needed to bring awareness to the situation,” he said. “But I want to do something too. I don’t want to just put [a statement] out there because it’s the right thing to do. I want change. … I want to do something but to be honest with you, I don’t know what that is.”

Kaepernick in February 2019 reached an undisclosed settlement with the NFL after accusing the league of blackballing him.