McDaniels asked about 'positive' Kaepernick workout

Josh McDaniels attempted to duck questions about Colin Kaepernick following reports the exiled quarterback's workout with the Las Vegas Raiders went well.

Kaepernick has been working out with the Raiders this week with a view to coming in as Derek Carr's understudy.

The former San Francisco 49ers QB has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season, having knelt during the national anthem throughout that campaign in a protest against police brutality and racial injustice.

Since leaving the 49ers, Kaepernick had not had a single workout with an NFL team – until now.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Kaepernick's workout was "largely considered a positive", having impressed the Raiders with his arm strength and conditioning, while NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said it "went well and he impressed".

The possibility of the Raiders signing Kaepernick was unsurprisingly the subject of much discussion with head coach McDaniels then, but the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator sought not to give a great deal away.

"We will only talk about the people that are on our team," he said on Thursday.

"Dave [Ziegler, general manager] and his staff have worked out tons of guys this spring. We really don't make comments about the evaluations that we made or what they looked like, what they didn't look like, strengths and weaknesses, those kinds of thing.

"They are obviously kind of private for us as we look at things to try to make decisions to make the team better. If players are added to the team, then obviously we'll talk about them at that point.

"I respect the question 100 per cent; I understand, but that's kind of what we'll stick to."

However, McDaniels did concede the team were "encouraging the competition" at QB, and he explained they were open to any avenue that could improve the roster.

"If there's an opportunity to improve the team, we said it from day one that we would look at every opportunity," the coach added.

"[Kaepernick] is not the first player that we've looked at and not the last one. There are going to be a lot of people who are going to come in and out of this building and have an opportunity to make an impression."