The Carolina Panthers could use a safety, and the Charlotte Observer editorial board thinks they should sign anthem-kneeler Eric Reid.
Reid, a former San Francisco 49er, remains a free agent. In May, he filed a collusion grievance against the NFL alleging that his unemployment is related to his anthem protesting. Reid’s former teammate, free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick, is also involved in the suit. Reid has actually knelt more than Kaepernick. The safety took a knee the last two seasons in San Francisco, while Kaepernick was out of the league. Kaepernick started the anthem-kneeling movement to protest police brutality and social injustice, in the preseason of 2016.
Former San Francisco teammate Torrey Smith, now with the Panthers, hinted that Reid’s protests were the best explanation for his continued unemployment. “I think we all know why [Reid] hasn’t received a call,” the wide receiver told reporters.
Smith thinks the Panthers should sign Reid.
“Honestly, with our injuries, I hope he ends up here,” Smith said. “I know how he is as a talent. If this is something where they come and talk to me about him, I’ll be glad to talk about him as a player, as a person. He’s one of the best men I’ve been around.”
And now, the Charlotte Observer is calling on the Panthers to add Reid. On Wednesday, their editorial board ran an op-ed with the headline: “The Carolina Panthers Should Eric Reid for Football Reasons – and other reasons.”
“Let’s leave the football argument, strong as it is, to Smith and others,” wrote the Observer’s editorial board. “The Panthers signing Reid not only would be the right thing for the team, but also the franchise and NFL. Panthers owner David Tepper, who surely understands all these things, should get Reid on the next plane to Charlotte for a workout.”
But what about fans who might be turned off in the two red states the Panthers represent – North and South Carolina?
“Some fans would get mad,” wrote the editorial board. “Maybe a few would burn their jerseys on social media. They would be some of the same fans who overreacted to Tepper’s defense of the his players’ patriotism this month and wrongly assumed that Tepper is steering the team toward kneeling for the anthem.”
Tepper, the Panthers’ new owner, recently said on CNBC, that it’s wrong to question the patriotism of NFL player protesters.
“These are some of the most patriotic people and best people. These are great young men,” Tepper told CNBC’s Scott Wapner. “So to say that [they aren’t patriotic] makes me so aggravated and angry. It’s just wrong, it’s dead wrong.”
One person whose questioned the patriotism of anthem protesters is President Donald J. Trump. The new Panthers’ owner isn’t a fan of the President.
“There’s a red-headed guy in D.C. that likes to talk about it, but I don’t want to mention his name,” Tepper said about Trump ripping the protesters.
Tepper told Wapner the protests are about “justice for all.”
So it’s possible that Tepper’s Panthers might be open to signing Reid.
And the main paper that covers his team, the Observer, thinks signing Reid is “a good football and business move that also was the right thing to do.”
The Observer also feels that Nike hiring Kaepernick as a spokesman is illustrative of why the Panthers shouldn’t worry about Reid hurting their business.
“Remember how Nike was going to lose all those customers by signing Colin Kaepernick as the lead in a new ad campaign this summer? Turns out that the company’s revenue has surged and the brand’s new spots have resulted in record engagement. There’s a reason for that: Even if fans are iffy about kneeling for the anthem, many nevertheless support athletes who use their platform to speak out about social justice issues. Or maybe they just realize it’s OK to disagree.”
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