COLIN KAEPERNICK will tomorrow get the opportunity to put on a workout in front of 32 NFL teams as he continues his attempt to find work in the league.

For the former San Francisco 49er, it is long overdue. This “chance” should have happened years ago but it didn’t.

His continued blacklisting from the NFL is a punishment for daring to speak out against racial inequality in the United States and the continued police brutality that people of colour receive.

Some will see tomorrow’s showcase as the league doing Kaepernick a favour.

No team has given the quarterback so much as a private workout in the last three years — but now they can see the player perform throws, interview him and get an up close and personal look at what he has to offer their team.

However, the way in which this came about will leave a sour taste in the mouths of those who have supported Kaepernick. And there is a growing feeling that this is the league’s way of throwing him a bone because it knows nothing will come of it.

Just look at the way this all came about.

Kaepernick and his representatives were told — not asked — just hours before the announcement was made on Tuesday that this workout was taking place.

According to people close to the situation, when they tried to move it to next Saturday, the league told them it was either tomorrow or not at all. Kaepernick had no choice but to say yes, or else look like he doesn’t want to play in the NFL.

Saturday is when teams are flying to games. Nobody has time on a Saturday, mid-way through the season, to attend the workout or send their head coach, top scout or anyone of importance.

Kaepernick himself said that he “can’t wait to see all the head coaches and [general managers] that will be there,” knowing full well no one of importance will be there — showing the decision-makers he understands that they aren’t actually trying to get him a job.

Workouts are usually on a Tuesday — it’s common knowledge — and yet the league has denied teams and Kaepernick an actual opportunity.

It’s like the NFL needs to be in control of this, like they need to remind Kaepernick who is in charge and that they hold his destiny and future in their hands. It’s on their terms or not at all.

Allegedly no media are allowed to witness the workout, though it will be filmed and sent to all 32 teams.

Given that this is a league where the NFL Draft is broadcast live to millions and college pro days are given the same treatment — why not make this a live event?

Let the rest of the world see Kaepernick in action and let everyone make up their mind on just how good he is.

Instead, it really is a private workout at an awful time for everyone involved.

This is the key part of the season, not only for the NFL but for the collegiate game as well.

Scouts will already have their agenda for the weekend and coaches will be working out their final plans for their upcoming games — meaning the team personnel sent to the workout will be low-ranking staff who probably won’t have much say in terms of hiring.

Teams won’t be looking for quarterback help in November, even if their starter goes down.

They have backups, third-stringers and other guys who know the playbook and can come in at short notice to help the team out in a pinch.

Or they will be looking at the next batch of quarterbacks who they can draft in April.

For Kaepernick, he would have had days to try and come out with a workout plan which will paint him in the best possible light.

He has been training for a moment like this since he was released by the 49ers and subsequently exiled from league.

He’s been waking up every day at 5am to throw the ball, hit the gym and stay in the best possible condition — just in case the phone rings and it’s an NFL team ready to sign him.

But that doesn’t mean that this is ideal for him and perhaps this is what the league wanted — to throw him in at short notice and create an environment where he is likely to fail.

That way, teams can say no, the narrative becomes “32 teams looked at him and all decided he wasn’t good enough” and the shield chugs along while Kaepernick is once again ushered into the background.

But this is someone who would have expected no different from the bigwigs in charge and he won’t let them ruin this moment for him.

If anything, it gives him more fuel to prove everyone wrong.

Imagine he calls up Dez Bryant, a wide receiver who is vying for one last chance in the league, Terrell Owens, another receiver who wants to get back into the NFL despite being 45 years old and former teammate Anquan Boldin.

The trio would be fired up — the first two because they will want to put on their own skills on tape and the latter because he will want to see his friend get the chance he has deserved for the last three years.

Having legitimate NFL receivers will be better than some nobodies the NFL will pick up off the street.

Kaepernick has a relationship with Boldin, he will know when the 39-year-old makes a cut and where the ball needs to be placed.

Having a relationship with at least one of the people tomorrow could be the difference between another private workout for the quarterback and him never getting a chance again.

Some people believe that this PR stunt from the NFL has come because teams want to workout Kaepernick but are afraid of the backlash it will cause from fans. Having them all under one roof allows some anonymity and gives them a legitimate excuse to speak to him.

Others have taken that theory down a different road and said that those teams that have wanted to talk to Kaepernick, or bring him into the building, have been afraid to and wanted the NFL’s permission to do so — which says a lot about the way the league is run.

Kaepernick should stream the workout live on his website and have his own footage to refer back to because, let’s be honest, it’s hard to trust the NFL and the 32 franchises given the way they have treated him over the past three years.

Teams have called worse quarterbacks out of retirement to sling the ball.

And they have put out truly awful players behind centre while maintaining that Kaepernick is “past it” and would be too big a distraction to just sit on the bench.

With players such as Luke Falk, Jeff Driskel, Mason Rudolph and other backup level quarterbacks starting games in 2019, the argument that Kaepernick is worse than them is foolish and insulting.

The league is trending towards mobile, athletic quarterbacks and that’s exactly what Kaepernick was when he was taking the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson are all excelling in 2019 — and there’s no reason why Kaepernick wouldn’t be if he makes a return.