Free agent safety Eric Reid, 26, announced that he will not kneel during the national anthem anymore starting at the beginning of this season.
Reid has become one of the most infamous kneelers, and did it along side Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco back in 2016, when Kaepernick started the protest.
When Kaepernick’s contract expired at the end of the 2016 season, he found that there was little interest in him from teams around the league, and now Reid appears to be in the same situation.
For a player of Reid’s caliber solely, the market is bone dry. (RELATED: NFL Teams Might Not Be Interest In Free Agent Anthem Kneeler)
When asked about the protests, he said, “it’s crazy that the narrative changed to we were ‘protesting the anthem,’ and that wasn’t the case. I think we’re going to take a different approach to how we’re going to be active.”
The 49ers do not appear to be highly interested in resigning Reid considering they have three younger safeties already on the roster who are all on rookie contracts.
Last week, Reid turned to Twitter to express his feelings on free agency.
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
Back in 2013, Reid was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the draft. He was named the starting free safety immediately. The former LSU player was selected to his first and only Pro Bowl during his rookie year.
It’s probably not surprising but each time a protester has reached free agency, fewer teams appear to be offering contracts and most of them seem to be low-balling players.