A letter from Colin Kaepernick asking the general manager of the New York Jets to join the team’s practice squad was released by the rapper J. Cole on Tuesday. Kaepernick “was reluctant” to agree to let him share the letter, J. Cole wrote in an accompanying Instagram caption. “My argument was that I believe the people and all organizations should know the truth about how hard he works and how much he still wants to play. And always has.” In the letter, dated Sept. 21, Kaepernick said he’s writing to Joe Douglas, “of course, in response to the unfortunate loss of Aaron Rodgers,” the quarterback who snapped his Achilles in his debut with the Jets 10 days earlier. “I would be honored and extremely grateful for the opportunity to come in and lead the practice squad,” Kaepernick wrote. The 35-year-old has not been on a NFL roster since 2017, when he opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in the wake of his decision to kneel during the national anthem in protest of racial inequality. Despite the gap in his resume, Kaepernick said, “I’ve never retired or stopped training.”