Colin Kaepernick is preparing to show he still belongs.

The former 49ers quarterback was spotted working out at a Houston field on Thursday afternoon, going through a variety of dropback and passing routines with a small group of trainers. The majority of Kaepernick’s passes during the 90-minute workout were short, according to a Yahoo Sports reporter on the scene, but he showed he can still throw the deep ball on a number of attempts down the field.

The private session seemed curiously secluded, with no NFL scouts on site nor media members inside the fenced-in field. Security staff reportedly surrounded the area to try to stop passersby from recording the workout, though one of Kaepernick’s trainers used video to review throwing mechanics with the quarterback.

Sports performance coach Josh Hidalgo, who was working with Kaepernick on Thursday, revealed afterward he’s been training consistently since January 2017, after his final season in San Francisco ended.

“We haven’t stopped throwing, training and preparing,” Hidalgo told TMZ. “To say he’s dedicated is an understatement. … Even when we’re traveling we put in that work.”

Kaepernick, 30, has been a free agent since opting out of his contract with the 49ers last March. The season before, he became the face of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem before games in protest of racial inequality and oppression, and many critics have pointed to his association with the controversy as reason for no teams signing him. Others have argued Kaepernick remains without a job because he’s not the same player he used to be, especially after losing his starting job in 2015 under a new head coach and undergoing shoulder surgery.

The 2011 second-round pick, who started in Super Bowl XLVII during his second pro season when the 49ers lost to the Ravens, filed a grievance against the NFL in October accusing team owners of colluding to keep him out of the league due to the protests.

Kaepernick has increased his political and social activist role in the year away from the sport, winning a variety of awards for his charity and social justice work.