NFL: Cowboys to check out Kaepernick?

Count the Dallas Cowboys (5-4) in among six other NFL teams all set to attend “blackballed” quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s audition in Atlanta on Saturday.

The former San Francisco signal-caller, who guided the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII in a losing effort to the Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans in 2013, left the league after the 2016 season following fallout from his decision to kneel during the national anthem.

Kaepernick’s action sparked a wave of controversy, but ultimately launched the Black Lives Matter movement to protest violence and systemic racism toward African-Americans following a series of deaths caused by law enforcement.

The six-year veteran claimed he was blackballed by the NFL and eventually filed a grievance accusing NFL team owners of collusion to keep him out of the league. In February, it was announced that Kaepernick had reached a confidential settlement and withdrew the grievance despite the league losing a request to dismiss the case.

Although Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett would not confirm their interest in attending the workout during a press briefing with local media on Wednesday, a team insider allegedly told USA Today that Dallas will have a representative at the event.

If so, the team will join the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins already confirmed, as well as the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both of which expect to have someone from the organisation in attendance.

The Cowboys’ interest in checking out Kaepernick comes at a time when the struggling squad has lost four of its last six games. The team has also been embroiled in negotiations with franchise quarterback and Haughton native Dak Prescott for months regarding a long-term contract extension.

Another note of significance comes from the fact that team owner Jerry Jones once denounced Kaepernick’s type of protest that led to a league-wide spread of taking a knee during the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” throughout the 2016 season. Jones even went so far as to state that the Cowboys would not roster a player who did not stand during the anthem.

Two weeks ago, Dallas traded for New England defensive end Michael Bennett, who has also used the anthem to protest social injustice in the past.