WATCH: Panthers’ Eric Reid Calls Kaepernick Workout a Success

Eric Reid
Getty Images/Grant Halverson
Warner Todd Huston

Carolina Panthers safety and well-known national anthem protester Eric Reid, praised Colin Kaepernick and insisted that Kaepernick’s workout stunt was a success.

After Sunday’s 29-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Reid told the media Kaepernick successfully showed the league that he is still in top playing form even while being “blackballed” from the league, ESPN reported.

“The goal was accomplished,” Reid said in the lover room. “He proved he can play this game. He proved he can throw the ball. Elite. That’s what an NFL executive said.

“He’s been working out every day for three years,” Reid added. “Can you imagine the mental fortitude it takes to stay in shape for three years while somebody is blackballing you for you wanting to stand up for people who have been wronged?”

Reid’s praise comes on the heels of Kaepernick’s sudden cancellation of the NFL’s official workout on Saturday in favor of his own showcase at a local Atlanta high school.

The high school workout was called a stunt by many, including usual Kaepernick supporter Stephen A. Smith who criticized the former San Francisco 49er quarterback as being unserious about returning to the game.

But Smith’s criticism did not sit well with Reid who called the sportscaster’s claims “nonsense.”

“That’s nonsense,” Reid exclaimed. “The proof of the workout was to show he can play the game, was to show he can throw the ball, and he did that. The NFL wanted to control the narrative by not letting independent NFL media into the workout to document the workout.”

Reid went on to slam the NFL for how it planned Kaepernick’s workout.

“They wouldn’t even tell him who was going to run his routes for him. They wouldn’t even give him a script for the workout. Is Colin supposed to trust an organization that has blackballed him? He’s not that naive,” the Panther player said.

Reid also bashed the NFL for planning the workout in the first place, calling the whole thing a mere “PR stunt.”

“We knew this was a PR stunt from the beginning,” Reid added. “When we got that waiver we were like, ‘Ah, we see that. It’s the employment rights. You want him to forfeit his employment rights.’ They’ve never had Colin’s best interests at heart. If that was the case, why are they making such a big deal about moving the workout?”

Reid also attended his friend’s workout at the high school, pointedly noting that he was there “on his free time.”

“Of course, I’m going to be there for my brother. Y’all have seen that,” Reid assured the press. “The way he fights for people, the way he fights for justice, I want to make sure I’m there supporting him.”

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