While the Cincinnati Bengals have a well-documented history of signing and keeping players with criminal records, they appeared to pass on free agent Eric Reid on Monday because he wouldn’t pledge to abstain from kneeling in protest during the national anthem.
The former Pro Bowler safety previously said he is not planning on protesting in 2018. However, when pressed on the subject by Bengals owner Mike Brown during an interview on Monday, Reid stopped short of promising to stand for the anthem throughout the upcoming season, according to Pro Football Talk.
The Bengals coaches were reportedly interested in signing Reid, a former first-round pick who was an All-American at LSU, but Brown supposedly plans on prohibiting players from protesting in 2018, which is reportedly why the Bengals passed.
