. @WhitlockJason : The Ravens made the mistake of being transparent with the media about Colin Kaepernick and they’re getting punished for it. pic.twitter.com/S5dU5VlXRG

With the NFL season looming, Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback Joe Flacco is nursing a back injury. The Ravens have discussed signing free agent Colin Kaepernick, although nothing is imminent.

Former Ravens great Ray Lewis said Monday on Fox Sports 1’s “Speak for Yourself” that if Kaepernick wants to get back on a team, he needs to come out and publicly say the national anthem protest is behind him and his focus is back on football to keep owners from second guessing where his mind is.

“If you want to prove something to somebody, get on the field and prove it,” said Lewis. “If you want to really play football, force your opinion. Muhammad Ali stood up for civil rights back in the day, but when Muhammad Ali got in the boxing ring, Muhammad Ali [was] pure business, because that’s what he does. I think honestly … I would love to see Colin come out and say, ‘I just want to get back to playing football.'”

He continued, “I want Colin to come out and say that to the owners across the world, like, ‘Listen, man, okay, I did my little protest thing, I understand it kind of went a lot of ways, but I like football.'”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent