RENTON — Pete Carroll said Monday the Seattle Seahawks have not closed the door on the possibility of adding Colin Kaepernick to their roster, but how much further they pursue it may depend on the upcoming NFL draft.
“We’re still battling on all fronts, on all guys. We’re still looking at guys and evaluating. There are still free agents we’re looking at and in that the process just continues,” Carroll said. “We’ve gone through the information gathering and we have a pretty good feel for where we are. It’s ongoing. We’re not done with that decision at all.”
Reports surfaced earlier this month that Seattle pulled out of a planned workout for Kaepernick, who has been without an NFL team since the end of the 2016 season. Seattle has been one of the few teams to show any interest in Kaepernick following his protests during the national anthem in the 2016 season with San Francisco.
Carroll said the reports of what happened with the intended workout were “blown up.”
“I think we’ve been working at this thing for some time now. I don’t think that was really as telling as it came across,” Carroll said. “We’re really aware of him and he’s a fine football player and there may be a place for him. We don’t know that yet.”
Whether Seattle revisits Kaepernick may be answered during this week’s draft and if the Seahawks invest a draft pick in a quarterback for the first time since selecting Russell Wilson in the 2012 draft. Seattle has signed backups Stephen Morris and Austin Davis this offseason.
Carroll and general manager John Schneider also gave brief updates on injuries to safety Kam Chancellor and defensive tackle Malik McDowell.
Chancellor suffered a neck injury midway through last season that put his career in doubt. Schneider said Chancellor will have a “scan” in late June or early July to determine his status going forward. It could be as much a contract issue as anything else with Chancellor, who signed a three-year extension with $25 million guaranteed before the start of last season.
Meanwhile, the status of McDowell remains murky. McDowell, Seattle’s initial draft pick in the second round of last year’s draft, was injured in an ATV accident last summer and has not taken part in any football-related activities since. Carroll said the team has received no indication on McDowell’s ability to even rejoin the team at this point, let alone play football.
“There is a lot of stuff we can’t get into. It’s a really unfortunate situation on both sides,” Schneider said.
The only diagnosis the team has provided regarding McDowell is that he suffered a severe concussion and facial injuries in the ATV accident.
“We haven’t had a good update in a long time,” Carroll said.
