Sports

NFL Teams Might Not Be Interested In Free Agent Anthem Kneeler

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Mike Brest Reporter
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Former San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid is now a free agent and could be looking for a new team.

Reid is known for being the second player to kneel during the National Anthem, right next to former teammate, quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick’s contract expired at the end of the 2016 season, and no team was willing to take a risk on such a polarizing figure. Now it’s time to see if Reid will have better luck in the free-agent market.

In an ESPN report, Reid said, “I wouldn’t use the word ‘concerned.’ I would say I understand that’s a possibility. And I’m completely fine with it. The things that I’ve done, I stand by, and I’ve done that for my own personal beliefs. Like I said, I’m fine with whatever outcome happens because of that.”

Back in 2016, Kaepernick sat during the team’s third preseason game. During the following preseason game, Kaepernick and Reid kneeled together instead of sitting. Jeremy Lane did the same thing on the same night. Lane is no longer on Seattle, either.

The 49ers, Broncos, Seahawks, Patriots, Chiefs and Dolphins all had players who kneeled in protest during the season opener that year.

Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, who also kneeled, was a teammate of Kaepernick’s in college at the University of Nevada.

Patriots tight end Marcellus Bennett, Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, and Dolphins players Arian Foster, Michael Thomas, and Jelani Jenkins all kneeled during that opening week, and none of them are on the teams they played for back then now.

Stephen Ross, the owner of the Dolphins, explicitly stated that players on his team will stand during the national anthem. The owner of the Houston Texans, Bob McNair, reportedly is not interested in those types of players.

With free agency only beginning, time will tell if owners are willing to accept those who knelt.