Eric Reid Turns Down Practice Squad Offer From The Washington Football Team After Feeling Disrespected

Safety Eric Reid turns down practice squad offer from the Washington Football Team after feeling disrespected based off of his career

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Since being released by the Carolina Panthers following the 2019 NFL season, strong safety Eric Reid has been looking to get back into the league. Statistics say the 28-year-old defender is more than capable of contributing to a team, as the one-time Pro Bowler has been above average when he’s on the field. Problem is, Reid’s probably best-known for being one of the first NFL players to silently protest police brutality, as he was often seen kneeling along the sidelines with former teammate Colin Kaepernick. Whether that’s played a role in the safety getting work or not, it’s something in the back of a lot of fans’ minds.

Then there’s this: The lame offer extended to Eric Reid by the Washington Football Team on Tuesday to replace an injured Landon Collins, which, according to AP News’ Rob Maaddi, was nothing more than a practice squad offer. Unsurprisingly, Reid turned it down and remains unemployed.

Given the accomplishments of Eric Reid to this point in his career, it’s not too surprising to see him decline the offer from the Washington Football Team. When you add in the feeling of being blackballed by most other NFL teams, it’s hard to wonder if Reid continues to get a raw deal from franchises for his past protests. If so, this is another example, with a pretty disrespectful offer that was never going to be accepted.

Per AP News:

“I just don’t think playing on the practice squad is reflective or indicative of my career,” Reid said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

That’s a pretty reasonable excuse for Reid, because, as he mentioned, he’s more than a practice squad member, is still in his prime, and has been healthy. So this isn’t like Dez Bryant joining Baltimore’s practice squad this season — which he did on Tuesday — because, unlike the wide receiver who’s 31 and coming of a 2018 Achilles injury — Eric Reid has more recently proven that he’s a highly capable addition to a defense.

Making all this even more interesting is this: The Washington Football Team’s head coach is Ron Rivera, who coached Reid in Carolina over the past couple seasons. Just look at what Rivera told reporters in September when asked about the safety’s free agency, and the possibility of Reid joining the franchise, per AP News.

Last month, Rivera praised Reid, saying: “He’s a heck of a teammate. He’s a heck of a young man.”

Rivera also added: “If we didn’t (have Collins), believe me, I’d call him. I think he’s a guy that has the ability to play in this league and hopefully, if somebody needs a strong safety, he’s a guy they would call.”

Now that Landon Collins is hurt with his own Achilles injury, Eric Reid should’ve been given a fair offer and been thought of as an instant replacement as the team’s starter. For whatever reason, he didn’t receive that, and now he’s back to waiting to see if another team comes calling this NFL season.

(H/T AP News)