Eric Reid said he believed he deserved to retain the starting strong safety job after returning from a PCL injury that kept him on the shelf for three weeks. Unfortunately for him, the 49ers have other plans.
Reid, 25, did not start on Sunday against the Cowboys, as Kyle Shanahan elected to stick with second-year man Jaquaski Tartt in the starting spot, relegating Reid to seeing the field on just 64 percent of the team’s snaps (48 total) at the WILL linebacker position.
“It’s a little different for me. I’ve never played the position. I’m trying to embrace it and learn as I go,” Reid said. “The Cowboys ran for 265 yards and logged 501 on the afternoon, the most the 49ers have allowed this season.”
What prompted the change, and will it continue?
“That’s a question that you’ll have to ask the coaches,” Reid said afterwards.
On paper, the move makes some sense. Tartt has been one of the most impressive young players on the team in 2017, with Pro Football Focus ranking him as the seventh most effective safety in the league so far this season. Reid has been less consistant, is older than Tartt, and will be a free agent at the end of the season.
At this point, the 49ers have shown that if a veteran player is not good enough to win a starting spot, they have no problem letting them walk. Once the 49ers made a determination that NaVorro Bowman was no longer going to play every down, he was given an ultimatum: accept a more limited role, or go elsewhere. He chose the latter, and it will be interesting to see what Reid chooses as it’s become clear that his role has diminished.
“I’m still playing. So, I’m just trying to make an impact on the team – do the best I can to do that,” Reid said.