CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Carolina Panthers got an early start on their bye week, as they held a conditioning workout Tuesday. No helmets or pads, just shirts and shorts.
- The Panthers will try to take advantage by letting their players rest and recover for nearly a full week
- Eric Reid has the potential to be brought onto the team
- The Panthers also made a trade with the Buffalo Bills Tuesday, sending a conditional draft pick to the Bills in exchange for tackle Marshall Newhouse
Head Coach Ron Rivera then sent them on their way for the rest of the week.
“In the past, we’ve given them their traditional Tuesday off, and then bring them back on Wednesday,” Rivera said after the workout. “Just thinking about some of these guys (we thought), ‘let’s just go ahead and do it Tuesday, get their workout in,’ and then go ahead and go Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday off and and come back with a good work day on Monday. That was the idea behind that, and we’ve never done that anyway, so we’ll see.”
The open date coming in the fourth week of the season is as early as it gets in the NFL, and the Panthers will try to take advantage by letting their players rest and recover for nearly a full week.
Injuries have been a storyline for this team since the early days of training camp, as the offensive line and secondary have been hit particularly hard. So much so, that the question of potentially bringing in safety Eric Reid was addressed Tuesday.
Reid is a free agent, after last playing for San Francisco. He was a teammate of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and joined Kaepernick in his national anthem protests against police brutality and racial inequality. Last season, the NFL Players Association filed a grievance with the NFL on his behalf, believing teams are colluding to keep him out of the league because of his part in the protests.
One Panther says Reid would be a welcome addition to Carolina’s secondary, considering the Panthers dressed just three safeties in their win over Cincinnati last Sunday.
“Eric Reid is a Pro Bowl caliber safety,” Panthers receiver Torrey Smith said Tuesday. “26 years old. First round pedigree, and is one of the best men that I know. I know teams have to be interested in him, and honestly with our injuries, I hope he ends up here. I know how he is, his talent, and if it’s something where they come and talk to me about him, I’ll be glad to talk about him.”
Smith and Reid were teammates in San Francisco, and Smith believes that Reid is being kept out of the league, along with Kaepernick.
“I think we all know why he hasn’t received a call,” Smith said.
The Panthers signed safety Dezman Southward to the practice squad on Monday. Southward was released by the Panthers following training camp, in a move Rivera described as a numbers decision based on Carolina’s offensive line injuries. Rivera says Southward has a shot to move into the 53-man roster before Carolina faces the New York Giants in week five.
The Panthers also made a trade with the Buffalo Bills Tuesday, sending a conditional draft pick to the Bills in exchange for tackle Marshall Newhouse. To make room for Newhouse, the Panthers waived tackle Corey Robinson. Robinson was acquired in a trade with Detroit this season.