Panthers Sign S Eric Reid To One-Year Deal Worth Up To $1.9M

The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday that they’ve signed free agent S Eric Reid to a one-year contract.

• Ian Rapoport reports that Reid’s one-year contract is worth up to $1.9 million and includes a base salary of $1 million for the 2018 season.
• Reid has incentives included in the contract for playing time and making the Pro Bowl along with per-game roster bonuses.

#Panthers have signed safety Eric Reid pic.twitter.com/X58eXxuQAC

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 27, 2018

Panthers GM Marty Hurney released the following statement regarding the decision to sign Reid:

“After we put Da’Norris Searcy on injured reserve, Ron and I discussed our options, and Eric was at the top of our list. He is a physical safety with good ball skills and play-making ability.”

Pro Football Talk reports that the Panthers signing of Reid does not impact his collusion grievance, as there was no settlement as part of his deal with Carolina.

Despite a number of teams being in need of safety help and Reid being the best available option for months, there hadn’t been any reported interest in him.

Reid previously worked out for the Bengals, but Cincinnati elected to not sign him to a contract after he wouldn’t disclose his plans for protesting.

Reid, 26, is a former first-round pick of the 49ers back in 2013. He played out the final year of his four-year, $8,480,736 contract with the 49ers and had been testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career.

In 2017, Reid appeared in 13 games for the 49ers and recorded 67 tackles, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and four pass defenses. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 30 safety out of 87 qualifying players.

We had him featured in our Top 50 Available 2018 NFL Free Agents list.