Broncos GM John Elway Says Colin Kaepernick ‘Passed’ On Chance To Sign With Team

John Elway revealed on Thursday that Colin Kaepernick had an opportunity to sign a contract with the Denver Broncos, but the free-agent quarterback passed on the chance.

Colin Kaepernick Passed On Chance With Broncos

Speaking to reporters after the Broncos’ training camp session ended Thursday, the team’s general manager responded to a question about whether or not Kaepernick was a “viable option” as Denver continues its search for a backup quarterback.

“You know what, and I said this a while ago: Colin had his chance to be here. We offered him a contract. He didn’t take it,” Elway said of the former San Francisco 49ers player. “As I said in my deposition … he’s had his chance to be here. He passed it.”

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In May, Elway testified in a deposition for Kaepernick’s attorneys in the former 49ers QB’s collusion case against the NFL. According to ESPN, Kaepernick and Elway met two times in 2016 while the Broncos and Niners attempted to acquire the passer via a trade. Denver was reportedly seeking to cut Kaepernick’s guaranteed salary from $12 million to $7 million. The deal ultimately collapsed just weeks before the 2016 draft. That year, Denver traded up in the first round to pick Paxton Lynch, who is now serving as a backup for the newly-acquired former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum. 

Kaepernick has been blackballed from the league since San Francisco released him early in the 2017 offseason, just months after he started kneeling for the national anthem as a way to protest racial inequality and police brutality in the United States. Dozens of NFL players have since replicated his controversial protests. Kaepernick filed his collusion grievance against the league last fall.

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Last season, Elway brought back quarterback Brock Osweiler on a one-year-deal and he played as a backup for Trevor Siemian. Osweiler had played his first four pro seasons (2012-2015) with the Broncos but then became a free agent in 2016 and joined the Houston Texans. By the point, he was one of the top-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Osweiler was then traded to the Cleveland Browns in March 2017, just six months before the Broncos re-signed him. He now plays for the Miami Dolphins after signing with them in March.

Osweiler’s pass completion percentage in 2017 (55.8 %) was his lowest since the 2014 season.