Eric Reid Not Sure What To Expect In Free Agency After Standout Season
On the surface, Eric Reid should be one of the most sought-after safeties in the NFL when he re-enters the free agent market this offseason. The 27-year-old has put together a terrific season despite not joining the Panthers until late September. Entering Carolina’s Week 17 matchup with the Saints, Reid has 66 tackles, three for a loss, one QB hit, one sack, one interception and five passes defended in 12 games. He’s far exceeded the value of the one-year, $1.39 million contract that landed him with the Panthers. Now, he’s looking for “market value,” according to The Charlotte Observer’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. While Reid’s play this season has warranted a handsome payday, stats likely won’t be the only factor teams consider when weighing whether or not to sign him. Reid, a former 49er and social justice protest partner of Colin Kaepernick’s — he’s continued to kneel during the national anthem while Kaepernick remains unsigned — has an open collusion case pending against the NFL after his search for a new team outlasted the 2017-18 offseason. He only ended up in Carolina because the Panthers were desperate for a safety after Da’Norris Searcy ended up on injured reserve. In addition to Reid’s collusion concerns, free agency was generally unkind to the safety position last offseason. He knows that could come up again, as well. “I don’t know what to anticipate with my case pending. With what they’ve done to the safety market this past year,” Reid said, according to The Athletic’s Joseph Person. “I have never seen — and I think my lawyers have looked into this — there’s never been a time when the value of a position has dropped off as the safety market has this past year, coincidentally when the person who was filing a collusion case against the NFL is a free agent. So we’ll see what happens this year.” While the open market is full of mystery, Reid is already on the radar of at least one team. That would be his current one, the Panthers. Carolina has expressed interest in re-signing Reid, an interest that’s mutual. Again, however, he wants to get his worth this time around. “I can see myself being here. I like the city. It reminds me of home,” he said. “It’s a lot slower than California, a lot less traffic. So those are definitely pluses.” Whatever happens, wherever he winds up, Reid will be one of the more interesting free agents for the second year in a row. If he goes through the same struggles he did last offseason, it won’t be based on performance.
On the surface, Eric Reid should be one of the most sought-after safeties in the NFL when he re-enters the free agent market this offseason. The 27-year-old has put together a terrific season despite not joining the Panthers until late September. Entering Carolina’s Week 17 matchup with the Saints, Reid has 66 tackles, three for a loss, one QB hit, one sack, one interception and five passes defended in 12 games. He’s far exceeded the value of the one-year, $1.39 million contract that landed him with the Panthers. Now, he’s looking for “market value,” according to The Charlotte Observer’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. While Reid’s play this season has warranted a handsome payday, stats likely won’t be the only factor teams consider when weighing whether or not to sign him. Reid, a former 49er and social justice protest partner of Colin Kaepernick’s — he’s continued to kneel during the national anthem while Kaepernick remains unsigned — has an open collusion case pending against the NFL after his search for a new team outlasted the 2017-18 offseason. He only ended up in Carolina because the Panthers were desperate for a safety after Da’Norris Searcy ended up on injured reserve. In addition to Reid’s collusion concerns, free agency was generally unkind to the safety position last offseason. He knows that could come up again, as well. “I don’t know what to anticipate with my case pending. With what they’ve done to the safety market this past year,” Reid said, according to The Athletic’s Joseph Person. “I have never seen — and I think my lawyers have looked into this — there’s never been a time when the value of a position has dropped off as the safety market has this past year, coincidentally when the person who was filing a collusion case against the NFL is a free agent. So we’ll see what happens this year.” While the open market is full of mystery, Reid is already on the radar of at least one team. That would be his current one, the Panthers. Carolina has expressed interest in re-signing Reid, an interest that’s mutual. Again, however, he wants to get his worth this time around. “I can see myself being here. I like the city. It reminds me of home,” he said. “It’s a lot slower than California, a lot less traffic. So those are definitely pluses.” Whatever happens, wherever he winds up, Reid will be one of the more interesting free agents for the second year in a row. If he goes through the same struggles he did last offseason, it won’t be based on performance.
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