Jon Gruden surprised Kaepernick's still a free agent, expects he'll sign soon

Jon Gruden has never shied away from a live microphone, and at the coaches' breakfast Tuesday morning, he shared his surprise that Colin Kaepernick is still on the market.

The quarterback went unsigned during the 2017 season after he began a protest during the national anthem in the 2016 campaign.

Gruden, who's returning to the sidelines as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders this season, thinks it's curious that Kaepernick remains a free agent, though he listed several other available quarterbacks whose status surprised him as well.

"I think there's a lot of intrigue there," Gruden said, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN. "His performance on the field (in 2016) wasn't very good, on tape. I think, Robert Griffin, a Rookie of the Year - surprised he's out there. Tim Tebow, takes a team to the playoffs, there's some surprise that he never came back. You know, Johnny Manziel, he's out there.

"Back to Kaepernick, you know he got beat out by (Blaine) Gabbert, to start the (2016) season. I think that says something. (But) I am surprised he's not in camp with somebody. He probably will be soon."

Though he hasn't appeared in a game since Jan. 1, 2017, Kaepernick trains every day in anticipation of making a return to professional football. He was spotted in Houston almost two weeks ago doing drill work before he attended a deposition for Texans owner Bob McNair in a collusion case he's filed against the league and a number of owners.