Colin Kaepernick hasn’t played in an NFL game in two years. Could he make his return this season, in the Pro Bowl?
That’s what some of his supporters plan to find out. This year the NFL is allowing fans to vote for Pro Bowlers on Twitter by using the hashtag #ProBowlVote and writing the name of the player they want to vote for. That means players don’t have to be on any official ballot to receive a Pro Bowl vote. They simply have to have their names tweeted. And Kaepernick has plenty of supporters on Twitter who have begun voting for him.
Will the NFL count those votes? It seems doubtful. The league will probably say that only active players can be voted into the Pro Bowl. But there’s precedent in other sports for players who weren’t actually actively playing to appear in an all-star game. Most notably, Magic Johnson, who retired from the NBA before the 1991-92 season, was still voted into the all-star game by the fans, played in it and won the game’s MVP award.
And perhaps the league, feeling pressured by Kaepernick’s collusion lawsuit, would decide to extend the invitation to Kaepernick, if he wins the fan vote. It would certainly make the Pro Bowl a lot more interesting than usual.