Eric Reid was reportedly asked by Bengals owner, coach about his on-field protests

It seemed like at least one NFL team had finally decided to look past Eric Reid's history of on-field protests when the Cincinnati Bengals invited the former Pro Bowl safety for his long-awaited first visit of free agency.

Now, that doesn't seem to be the case.

As ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio reported Wednesday, Bengals owner Mike Brown personally posed questions to Reid about the player kneeling during pre-game national anthems when the two sides met on Monday, telling the former San Francisco 49ers starter "that he intends to prohibit" such protests and asking for Reid's response. While Reid has indicated he doesn't plan to continue using the anthem as a platform for protesting social injustice, he did not commit to forgoing any demonstration "at the direct request and behest of Brown," per PFT, and this apparently led to Bengals coach Marvin Lewis asking Reid before the safety ended his visit if he wanted to "clarify" anything he told Brown.

The free-agent visit included a physical and film review, Florio noted, but it ended without any contract offer for Reid, who has been largely overlooked since hitting the open market in March.

A first-round draft pick of the 49ers in 2013, the former Pro-Bowler went on record before the end of the 2017 season saying his protests alongside ex-Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernickmight scare off teams in free agency -- something he echoed when he actually became available. Since then, a number of players have suggested NFL owners are, in fact, avoiding Reid merely because of his demonstrations during the anthem -- former teammate Torrey Smith said Reid is "being locked down," fellow safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Devin McCourty said Reid is essentially being shunned, and new 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said "legal action" could be taken if Reid isn't signed.

Let's block ads! (Why?)