NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday he would "encourage" an NFL team to sign Colin Kaepernick.
Devin McCourty believes the NFL needs to do more for the quarterback it effectively blackballed from the league three years ago.
During an appearance Wednesday with his twin brother Jason McCourty on ESPN's "First Take," the New England Patriots safety laid out what he'd like to see the league do for Kaepernick.
Download the MyTeams app for the latest Patriots news and analysis
"First and foremost, they need to have a sit-down," Devin McCourty said. "They need to bring him in there, they need to tell him face-to-face everything that they said publicly. Tell that to him directly."
Shortly after George Floyd's murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality, Goodell issued a statement saying the league was "wrong" for not "listening to NFL players earlier."
But Goodell didn't directly reference Kaepernick, who began protesting those same issues in 2016 but went unsigned as a free agent in 2017 and has been out of the league since.
New England Patriots
Find the latest New England Patriots news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
Beyond lip service, McCourty wants the NFL to give Kaepernick "a real opportunity" to play football again -- and to do better than the November 2019 workout that essentially set up the 32-year-old quarterback to fail.
Listen and subscribe to the Next Pats Podcast:
"Last year I was one of the guys that, when he had that workout, I thought it was bogus," McCourty said. "I didn't think it was a real opportunity for him. But I think he needs to be heard now, even more than back in 2016.
"We all kind of cut him off and didn't really embrace him the way we should have, and I think it's time now to bring him into the fold. If the NFL wants to really be involved in this, they need to make sure they elevate his platform and let him speak and let him do the work he's been doing."
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn suggested his team may consider working out Kaepernick this summer, and considering the state of the Patriots' quarterback room, perhaps New England will consider hosting Kaepernick for a workout, as well.
We've heard these rumors before, however, and it will be up to an NFL team to take action and end Kaepernick's exile.