The Carolina Panthers are battered up in their secondary after safety Da’Norris Searcy was put on injured reserve due to a concussion heading into Week 4 of the season. This has pushed the Panthers to ink former San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid:
#Panthers have signed safety Eric Reid pic.twitter.com/X58eXxuQAC
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 27, 2018
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports it's a one-year deal:
Fist raised. As far as the anthem, I’m told the Panthers kept the conversations with Eric Reid to football. Owner David Tepper was involved in the conversations, but the emphasis has been, these were football decisions. https://t.co/oxor391SxB
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 27, 2018
This brings aboard some potentially much-needed stability in the secondary as Reid has proven to be one of the better players at his position in the league. He spent his first five years in the NFL with the 49ers, where he burst onto the scene in his rookie campaign earning a Pro Bowl nod and All-Rookie honors.
Reid experienced some struggles with injuries last season, but he did start in 12 out of 13 games played. He recorded 66 tackles, two interceptions, four passes defensed, and one fumble recovery. In his career, he has started in all but one of his first 70 games while racking up 375 tackles, 10 interceptions, 34 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Reid has shown he can be a game-changing talent at his position, but it was other actions that seemingly pushed teams away from signing him until now. Reid and Colin Kaepernick have been at the center of the protests featuring kneeling during the national anthem, with both players involved in a collusion lawsuit against the league. Apparently, Reid's place in the lawsuit won't change even with this deal:
My understanding is that Eric Reid’s place in the collusion lawsuit against the NFL remains unchanged, despite his signing with the #Panthers.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 27, 2018
Reid has now gotten the opportunity to continue his NFL career to showcase that he can be a huge factor in the secondary for the Panthers' push toward the playoffs. He is in the prime of his career and should have plenty of highly productive campaigns ahead of him. These next few days should provide him time to get acclimated with Carolina's defensive scheme with the team having its bye this week.
Follow Us
Subscribe