Former NFL player wonders why Colin Kaepernick is getting a special workout for teams: 'I've definitely been excluded'

After news broke Tuesday that former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick would get an NFL-sanctioned workout for teams in Atlanta on Saturday, another former NFL player has wondered publicly why Kaepernick is getting special treatment by the league, Fox News reported.

Kaepernick has claimed that he has been blackballed by the league for the past three seasons because of his kneeling protests during the national anthem. But he has allegedly stayed in playing shape the whole time and is ready to showcase his ability in front of team officials he hopes will sign him.

Sean Weatherspoon is a former Atlanta Falcons linebacker who was publicly supportive of Kaepernick's protests. Weatherspoon has been out of the NFL since 2017, and says he's also ready to play.

"Colin Kaepernick isn't the only player that deserves a workout," Weatherspoon wrote on Twitter. "I publicly supported him and what he kneeled for! I still stand on my word! I've never even been cut from a team! I've definitely been excluded going on damn near 3 years. I'm in Atlanta too @nfl."

Weatherspoon tweeted that he believed he was treated differently in the NFL after a 2016 ESPN story in which he explained why he supported Kaepernick's controversial protests.

Weatherspoon entered the league in 2010 as a first-round draft pick. He played seven seasons (2010-2014, 2016-2017) with the Atlanta Falcons and one season (2015) with the Arizona Cardinals. In his final two seasons with the Falcons he rarely played, and was not re-signed at the end of the 2017 season.

Kaepernick settled a grievance earlier this year with the NFL in which he claimed the NFL and team owners colluded against him to keep him out of the league. He and former teammate Eric Reid split a $10 million settlement. Reid and other players who knelt during the national anthem, and some who continue to do so, are still active in the league.