Why is Eric Reid trying to fight everyone on the Eagles?

Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid confronted Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins before the coin toss, and the altercation goes back to Reid taking issue with Jenkins’s leadership of “The Players Coalition”.

The Week 7 contest between the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers pit two contending teams in the NFC against each other, with each team hoping to pick up an impressive victory to push their records away from .500.

However, the game itself was overshadowed by an even bigger story, and that was Panthers safety Eric Reid.

Prior to joining the safety-needy Panthers during the regular season this year, Reid had been black-balled by other NFL teams for protesting the national anthem. Back in November of last year, Reid stated that he left “The Players Coalition” because he felt that its leader, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, didn’t stand by his word and didn’t have the best interests of the protestors at heart. Miami Dolphins safety Michael Thomas shared this viewpoint.

Earlier this year, per The Athletic Philadelphia’s Bo Wulf, Reid referred to Jenkins’s coalition as being an “NFL-funded subversion group”, and the bad blood between Reid and Jenkins extended to gameday.

Reid was “visibly upset” during the coin toss, and teammate Torrey Smith, who once played for the Eagles and praised Jenkins as the leader of “The Players Coalition”, tried to diffuse the situation. 

That was unsuccessful, as Reid has been making his feelings known throughout the game. He has taken out his frustrations on everyone on the Eagles, including absolutely flooring tight end Zach Ertz, who wildly charged at Reid at one point in the game.

The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero added that Reid stared down the Eagles bench during a timeout, and it’s clear that he wants to make sure Jenkins and everyone else knows how he feels about “The Players Coalition” and the way he feels mistreated by his peers as one of the NFL’s most vocal protestors of police brutality.

There will be plenty of fallout after today’s game, and hopefully everything stays safe, since this is a volatile situation with all the emotions involved. There is understandable frustration from Reid, but the worry is that there could be an escalation of tensions, which would be ugly for all parties involved. Jenkins and the Eagles will likely have something to say about Reid’s actions, and Reid will have important words, too.

All the while, Smith, who likely sees where Reid and Jenkins are coming from as either current or former teammates of the two leaders, is caught  up in the middle of an uncomfortable situation. Perhaps this will lead to a productive dialogue, as that would be a possible silver lining in this.