Even though Colin Kaepernick hasn’t played football for almost four years now, the quarterback now returns in the Madden 21 football simulation. With a strong rating and some exciting extras.

Colin Kaepernick is back in the NFL. Not on the real playing field, but at least in the current issue of the football simulation Madden 21.

As game producer EA Sports announced on Tuesday, the quarterback, who was not awarded a contract in the NFL after his anthem protest, will return to virtual football. The last time the popular playmaker had been on the football field was on January 1, 2017, and he had been dismissed by the San Franciso 49ers after the season. In the 2018, 2019 and 2020 editions of the football simulation, the current Free Agent, who led the 49ers into the Super Bowl in his very first season as a starter, was missing.

Kaepernick protests against police violence
“Colin Kaepernick is one of the top free agents in football and has the caliber of a starting quarterback,” EA Sports announced on its website: “The EA Sports team and millions of Madden fans want to see him back in our game at last.

In a way, the sports game giant is also supporting the social protest of the 32-year-old, who refused to stand at the US national anthem to draw attention to police violence and racial discrimination against African Americans.

“Madden NFL is meant to reflect Colin’s positions and talent and encourage our fans to express their hopes for the future of football,” EA Sports continued.

Top rating for Kaep
Kaepernick apparently worked closely with EA Sports because of his virtual comebacks, at his request his character from 2017 received a hairstyle update. In the future “Kaep” will wear an Afro instead of cornrows. By the way, Kaepernick is rated very highly in Madden, despite his lack of playing practice he received an overall rating of 81, which puts him in the circle of the strongest quarterbacks.

So whoever plays with Kaepernick should have more reason to cheer. And a new Signature Move has been installed here as well: according to “The Undefeated” the quarterback celebrates touchdowns with his Black Power fist.