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Finally, free agent veteran safety Eric Reid has found a team to play for. After spending all of the offseason and the first few weeks of the regular season without a team to play for, the Carolina Panthers have signed the 26-year-old former first-round pick.
Reid, who spent five seasons in San Francisco was finally let go of the team. Similar to his former teammate Colin Kaepernick, Reid struggled to find a new team to play for while on the free agency market. When Reid realized that his lack of offers was most-likely due to the fact that he engaged in pregame protests, he filed a grievance letter with the NFL, using the same lawyer as Colin Kaepernick.
Reid Finds a New Team:
#Panthers have signed safety Eric Reid
Quite the coincidence out in Carolina. Just a week after Panthers veteran wide receiver, Torrey Smith threw out the suggestion of signing Reid, the team went and granted his wishes. Now, Smith and Reid are teammates.
Apparently, the Panthers weren’t the only team interested in the Pro Bowl caliber safety this week. NFL Media’s Jim Trotter reported that there have been multiple teams that reached out to the former 49er this week, but he ultimately chose Carolina as his destination.
With all of the injuries going around the league, it was only a matter of time until teams started throwing out offers to Reid. After all, he has the talent to uplift a defense. Owners and Coaches just had to be willing to bring him on despite the back-and-forth fight with NFL due to his belief of being blackballed by owners elsewhere.
The Panthers made the correct move by signing Reid when they need him the most. Although he didn’t play a full season in 2017, he finished off the year with 53 total tackles and two interceptions. He hasn’t played an entire season since 2015, but missing the first few games could be good for Reid as he will enter the season a few games in fully healthy.