In the middle of this supposedly generous (and unprecedented!) offer to give Kaepernick a league-hosted workout, the lawyers slipped clauses into a liability release that would create a foothold to fight against litigation under state and federal employment laws.

I believe this is the answer to why the NFL put this workout together. It created multiple outcomes that could all be weaponized against the league’s Kaepernick problem.

If Kaepernick said no to the workout or pulled out for any reason, the NFL could say “we tried” and there would be more than a few media personalities ready to carry that water. And if by some masterstroke Kaepernick’s lawyers said yes to the waiver, the NFL would have a signed document guarding against a lawsuit stemming from state and federal employment laws.

The workout was the Trojan horse.

The NFL’s weapon was the waiver planted inside it.