(Photo Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)

Brady thinks it’s “pretty cool he’s getting that opportunity”

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is expressing his support for Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who says he was blacklisted from the NFL for staging protests against police brutality.

“I think being a pro quarterback is very challenging in and of itself,” Brady said. “To have time off is a challenge, but Colin’s overcome a lot of challenges in his career, and he’s always found a way to produce. He’s very mentally tough, and I think it’s pretty cool that he’s getting that opportunity.”

The NFL agreed to host a private workout for Kaepernick with NFL scouts this week. Kaepernick has not played in the league since 2016, a year after he began kneeling for the National Anthem. Kaepernick said he knelt to protest racial profiling and police brutality against black men, especially in the wake of several high-profile police shootings of unarmed black men.

Fans and sports critics have named the New England Patriots as a team that could potentially sign Kaepernick, enlisting him as Brady’s backup quarterback. Others have contended that it will be very difficult for Kaepernick to get signed by any team this late in the season, and that the earliest he could possibly play is in the fall of 2020.