Like Colin Kaepernick last offseason, Eric Reid’s decision to protest during the national anthem sure looked like it was hurting his chances at signing with an NFL team during the free agency period. Reid, 26, a five-year veteran and one-time Pro Bowler, has a projected market value of $8.6 million per year according to Spotrac, but had yet to receive a single invite, let alone contract offer, from an NFL team this offseason.
That all changed on Monday according to NFL Network, who reported that Reid is scheduled to visit with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Reid has indicated he believes his decision to take a knee during the national anthem to protest racial inequality has scared teams away this offseason.
The notion that I can be a great signing for your team for cheap, not because of my skill set but because I’ve protested systemic oppression, is ludicrous. If you think is, then your mindset is part of the problem too.
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) March 15, 2018
GMs aren’t the hold up broski. It’s ownership. People who know football know who can play. People who know me, know my character. https://t.co/M9ULziZg5V
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) March 16, 2018
Last month, Reid said he would likely not kneel during the national anthem if he gets signed to a team next season.
“I’m not saying I’m going to stop being active, because I won’t,” Reid told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. “I’m just going to consider different ways to be active, different ways to bring awareness to the issues of this country to improve on.
“I don’t think it’ll be in the form of protesting during the anthem. And I said ‘during’ because it’s crazy to me that the narrative got changed to we were protesting the anthem, because that wasn’t the case. But I think we’re going to take a different approach to how to be active.”
Reid is coming off a solid season for the 49ers where he played both safety positions as well as linebacker. Reid was ranked as the 30th best safety (out of 87) in the NFL last year according to Pro Football Focus.