Michigan Football announce Kaepernick as honorary captain for Spring Game
Michigan has announced that Colin Kaepernick will serve as honorary captain for Saturday's Maize and Blue Spring Game.
Kaepernick attended practice and spoke with the team. He will be on hand Saturday, as the Maize and Blue Spring Game will kickoff at 12 p.m. EST at Michigan Stadium.
Kaepernick was selected 36th overall in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. 2011 was also Jim Harbaugh's first season with the Niners. In 2012, Kaepernick's second season he was used in special packages before starting QB Alex Smith suffered a concussion in a week 10 matchup against the St. Louis Rams.
Kaepernick would get his first career start the next week, throwing for 246 yards and 2 TD's against one of the league's best defenses in the Chicago Bears. Even when Smith was cleared to play, Harbaugh chose to stick with Kaepernick. The 49ers would make the playoffs and advance to Super Bowl XLVII against John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens. The Niners would lose 34-31.
Kaepernick would sign a six year extension with San Francisco in 2014, Harbaugh's last season with the 49ers. The following year Kaepernick would struggle under new head coach Jim Tonsula. He suffered multiple injuries including a shoulder that would require surgery. In 2016, new head coach Chip Kelly would name Blaine Gabbert the starting QB over Kaepernick. Heading into the 2017 season the 49ers hired Kyle Shanahan to serve as their new head coach. Shanahan expressed that Kaepernick would not fit into their new system, so Kaepernick opted out and became a free agent.
Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since but has held workouts and had discussions with multiple teams, as recently as this month.
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