Colin Kaepernick is still not giving up on his dream of returning to the NFL ... saying he's still up at 5 AM and training 5 or 6 days a week in case a team finally calls.
The quarterback -- who hasn't played a down in the league since the 2016 season -- made the revelation in a recent interview with Ebony ... explaining he still has a goal of winning the Lombardi Trophy.
"I am still up at 5 a.m. training five, six days a week," Kaepernick said, "making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again."
The 33-year-old last played for the 49ers on Jan. 1, 2017 in a loss to the Seahawks ... and never signed on with a team again after that.
Kap claimed repeatedly that he believed the league was blackballing him over the way he started kneeling demonstrations during pregame national anthems.
In fact, the QB sued the league a few years ago ... and the parties settled out of court. The NFL didn't publicly admit to blackballing Colin.
But, in his recent interview, Kaepernick made it clear he still believes teams are avoiding him over it all ... adding that he hopes his training will "expose" the situation.
"You're gonna have to continue to deny me and do so in a public way," Kaepernick said. "And you’re gonna expose yourself by that, but it won't be because I'm not ready or not prepared."
1,363 days of being denied employment.
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 23, 2020
Still putting in work with @E_Reid35
Still going hard 5 days a week. #StillReady#StopRunning pic.twitter.com/iMeJ03IRuB
In the meantime, Kaepernick said he's also focused on other aspects of his life -- like his production company, charity work ... and even acting.
Colin said he's been working with acting coaches and wants to have more on-screen roles in the future -- explaining it all feels similar to quarterbacking.
"[It] really felt natural to me," Kaepernick said. "I just didn’t have to dodge any 300-pound lineman while doing it."