Colin Kaepernick Pens Letter to New York Jets Requesting Spot to ‘Lead Practice Squad’

Colin Kaepernick is ready to take the field again.

In an Instagram post Tuesday, rapper J. Cole shared a copy of a letter Kaepernick, 35, wrote to New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas asking him to join the practice squad. Kaepernick’s attorney confirmed to PEOPLE that the letter was from the quarterback.

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“I asked Colin @kaepernick7 if I could share this letter with the world. He was hesitant,” the musician (38) explained in the caption of the post. “My argument was that I believe people and all organizations should know the truth about how hard he works and how much he still wants to play. And he always wanted to. In the end he agreed to let me.”

J. Cole (L) and Colin Kaepernick (R).

Arturo Holmes/Getty

Kaepernick last played in the NFL as a member of the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 season. When the national anthem played at the beginning of each game, Kaepernick began kneeling to protest racial injustice and police brutality.

Although he received support from some of his fellow athletes in a movement called #TakeAKnee, he also received backlash, which led him to withdraw from his contract in March 2017.

Colin Kaepernick says he wants to return to the NFL: ‘I’m still training for it every day’

In his Sept. 21 letter, Kaepernick expressed his desire to join the Jets organization and “run the practice squad.”

“I would do this with the sole mission of preparing your defense every week,” he wrote. “If I could fill this role for the team, I believe it makes more things possible.”

Kaepernick explained that he reached out to the organization “in response to the unfortunate loss of Aaron Rodgers.”

Rodgers, 39, tore his left Achilles tendon during the Jets’ season opener. Although he underwent successful surgery following the injury, he announced in an Instagram post that it sidelined him for the rest of the season.

“I know the aspirations this season were, and still are, to win a championship, so the Hall of Fame-sized hole will have to be filled as best as possible to keep the team on track for a Super Bowl,” Kaepernick wrote.

Colin Kaepernick in 2013.

Ronald Martinez/Getty

While he said he understands “Zach Wilson is tasked” to be the team’s starting quarterback, he said he offered the team a “risk-free contingency plan” by joining the practice squad.

“I am confident in my ability to provide you with an elite QB option if, God forbid, QB1 goes down,” Kaepernick wrote. “However, I know that naturally you and perhaps others may be insecure about my playing abilities. This plan, I believe, allows me to be of great help to the team as a practice squad QB, and it also gives you a low-commitment option to assess my abilities to assist in any other capacity you deem appropriate.”

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Kaepernick concluded his letter to Douglas by stating that he had maintained the same training schedule for six years and included a list of individuals in the NFL who would vouch for his “character, work ethic and ability.”

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Source: HIS Education