NFL Notes: Colin Kaepernick, Terrelle Pryor, Gambling

Colin Kaepernick

According to Jason La Canfora, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spent months planning the recent workout for free agent QB Colin Kaepernick. 

La Canfora reports that Goodell discussed Kaepernick’s situation with Jay-Z early on in the partnership between the rapper and the NFL. The idea for a large-scale workout for the quarterback came from Goodell.

Goodell quietly met with several owners, including Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, Falcons owner Arthur Blank, 49ers owner Jed York and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, to discuss facilitating a return for Kaepernick. 

“Roger started making calls and hosting meetings about this right away,” a source involved in the process said. “He really did a lot of this on his own, keeping everything very quiet. He probably spoke to 10 owners, at least … He really wanted to do the right there here, and I understand if some people will say that something should have happened sooner and it took too long, but you have to allow that there can be a course correction and Roger really did invest himself in this process.”

La Canfora mentions Goodell was confident at least two teams would have legitimate interest in Kaepernick. He adds multiple teams expressed a desire to have some cover for their evaluation, which contributed to the decision to have a large group workout. 

La Canfora says Kaepernick has yet to receive any feelers from teams following his own personal workout he staged after the one with the NFL fell through. La Canfora adds that based on conversations with several teams, the chances of Kaepernick playing again “look as remote as ever.”

Terrelle Pryor

• Jeremy Fowler reports that all parties involved are hoping Terrelle Pryor will be released from the hospital on Tuesday or Wednesday.
• Pryor was stabbed after being involved in an incident that took place in Pittsburgh. He has undergone surgery and been charged with simple assault for his role in the matter. 

Gambling

• Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that shortly before the NFL announced that Cardinals S Josh Shaw was suspended through the 2020 season, the league sent out a memo to all 32 teams explaining that any employee found gambling on football would be terminated.
• The Cardinals were reportedly unaware that Shaw was being suspended for the NFL because he only spent a brief period of time with Arizona this past summer before being placed on injured reserve.
• The NFL’s policy states: “All NFL Personnel are prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating any bet, whether directly or indirectly through a third-party, on any NFL game, practice or other event. This includes betting on game outcome, statistics, score, performance of any individual participant, or any other kind of ‘proposition bet’ on which wagering is offered.”