Carolina Panthers sign Eric Reid (finally)

Someone finally did it. The Carolina Panthers signed S Eric Reid on Thursday, even though he should've been signed by, like, anyone months ago. Reid was famously the player who joined Colin Kaepernick in kneeling for the National Anthem originally, and was then blackballed from the league, just like Kaepernick has been. With safety being one of the toughest positions to get good, consistent players - it's absolutely astounding that it's taken this long for him to find a home. The Atlanta Falcons lost BOTH starting safeties and still wouldn't even look in his direction.

Panthers WR Torrey Smith lobbied to get his team to sign Reid, and while I do not know if this is a factor in this signing (it really shouldn't matter, anyways) - Smith said it best with this tweet:  

There is never a wrong time to do the right thing #keeppounding

— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) September 27, 2018

​Will he kneel for the anthem? Will he stand? Join me in unison as we all say "Who the fuck cares!" Thank you.

buzz-worthy:

• ​Rishard Matthews is FED UP. Matthews asked the Tennessee Titans to release him, due to lack of playing time at WR/the Titans being bad. He just signed an extension over the summer.
• Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon had his knee "cleaned out" (I don't exactly know what this means when they talk about it - they make it seem like they just stick a straw in there and suck out all the bad stuff? who knows?) after Week Two, but has resumed running this week. 
• Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joe Haden had a drug test waiting for him at the airport at 3am after Monday Night Football this week. That is some shady shit. There isn't much I'd do at 3am, and a drug test is definitely not on that list.
• Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley was asked on Thursday if he lifted last week's two-point play from the Philadelphia Eagles, and instead of making shit up and denying (which I expected him and others to do), he owned it. "Absolutely. We have no shame." Speaking of denying, just last week, head coach Hue Jackson did just that. "We did not steal that from them. Please. I know everybody wants to think that." Gonna need another Hard Knocks episode on this debacle.
• Speaking of the Eagles, RB Jay Ajayi will play through a BACK FRACTURE (wtf???) like it's fucking nothing. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here will a pulled muscle in my shoulder acting like I'm dying a slow death.
• Denver Broncos TE Jake Butt (killer last name) tore his ACL in practice. This is his third torn ACL, and you don't even have three ACLs, so that's not great.
• The Oakland Raiders are dead last in not only sacks, but pass rush percentages. I WONDER WHY THAT IS.
• Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers finally got in a limited practice on Thursday, after not practicing all week. I think that's a sweet deal honestly. Get hurt and miss practice but get to play anyway. It's like getting a note to get out of gym class but still getting an A. 
• New York Jets offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates is mad that the Jets' headsets keep going out. He made sure to say these things happen, "especially in New England." He said it - I didn't.
• In probably the most exciting Thursday Night Football game of all time, the Los Angeles Rams came out with the W and QB Jared Goff (not Jack) looked absolutely lights-out. Rams are the best team in football right now, who woulda thunk it?

What I'm reading today:

• Eric Weddle plans to retire a Raven: "I'm definitely not going to play for another team" (Baltimore Sun)
• A blog from the token female CEO of Barstool Sports (Barstool Sports)
• Antonio Brown is putting people on game (Bleacher Report)
• NFL clarifies roughing the passer rule to "ensure consistency" (ESPN)
• Fiancee of White Sox pitcher Jace Fry appears to nuke their engagement via Instagram (Deadspin)

last word:

The NFL’s Roughing the Passer instructional video narrated by EROCK. pic.twitter.com/e2UEk6stSH

— EROCK (@TheMightyEROCK) September 27, 2018