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NFL notebook: Reid files collusion case against league

[May 03, 2018] Former San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid filed a collusion claim against the NFL as he continues to draw little interest around the league, the NFL Players Association confirmed on Wednesday.

Reid is working with the same lawyer representing former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's grievance against the league, according to ESPN. The allegations in their respective claims are also said to be similar.

"Our union is aware that Eric Reid and his legal representatives filed a collusion claim, which will be heard through the arbitration process as spelled out in our collective bargaining agreement. Our union supports Eric and we are considering other legal options to pursue," a statement from the NFLPA read.

Reid, who joined Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem two years ago, has had just one free agency visit this offseason. During that visit, Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown personally met with Reid and initiated a conversation that centered "almost exclusively" on the issue of player protests during the anthem, according to ProFootballTalk. Per the report, Brown said he plans to prohibit his players from kneeling during the anthem and asked the 26-year-old for his response. Reid was caught off guard by the question and was not willing to promise he would not kneel moving forward.

--Unnamed Washington Redskins cheerleaders have come forward to reveal they were required to be topless during a calendar photo shoot in Costa Rica in 2013, a report published by the New York Times details.

The Redskins had invited spectators -- sponsors and FedExField suite holders, all of which were men -- to the photo shoot, according to the report. Also during the trip, nine of the 36 cheerleaders were reportedly required to accompany male sponsors as personal escorts at a nightclub. They were taken to the club in a van without any Redskins management, according to the report, but several Redskins officials were said to be at the club.

The report states the commands came from Stephanie Jojokian, the longtime director and choreographer for the Redskins' cheerleaders, who denied that the nightclub request was mandatory or that the girls who had to go were specifically chosen.

--New York Jets quarterback and No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold won't have the starting job handed to him, but he will "have every opportunity" to win it, according to general manager Mike Maccagnan.

"We're going to basically expose him to everything," Maccagnan told NFL Network's Rich Eisen. "We're going to give him the opportunity to go out there learn and earn the position. Of course our focus is not necessarily to throw him into the fire until he's earned it.

"We're very excited about him and his upside and potential. We have a lot of football to be played this spring and in training camp and we'll see how it comes along. He's going to have every opportunity to go out there and hopefully fulfill all the potential we see in him."

--The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed injured linebacker Ryan Shazier on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, the team announced. The move makes it official he will miss the 2018 season and means he will not count against the 90-man offseason roster.

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Recovering from a spinal injury he suffered in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in December that required surgery, Shazier continues to progress in rehabilitation. He caused a stir at last week's draft when he took the stage to announce the team's first-round pick, with arms locked with his fiancee, Michelle Rodriguez.

After a rousing ovation subsided, Shazier read the Steelers' selection of Virginia Tech safety Terrell Edmunds with the 28th overall pick. Shazier has said the possibility of returning to the football field is driving him each day.

-- Federal prosecutors arrested a woman in Houston for stealing more than $1 million from former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem, among other charges.

Meachem had hired Tonya Lynn Adkism, now 44, in 2010 to manage his finances. Her Wednesday arrest includes charges related to mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. She could face more than 300 years in prison if found guilty of all 16 counts against her.

Meachem was drafted in the first round (27th overall) by New Orleans in 2007. In his seven-year career, Meachem finished with 178 catches for 2,914 yards and 27 touchdowns. He spent one season (2012) with the San Diego Chargers before returning to the Saints.

--The Tennessee Titans have reached a deal with free-agent free safety Kendrick Lewis, the team announced. The Titans also announced they were waiving safety Denzel Johnson.

Lewis, 29, didn't play in 2017. He played in six games for the Baltimore Ravens in 2016, but then the team placed him on injured reserve and eventually released him.

Lewis, who stands 6-feet tall and weighs 205 pounds, has 232 career tackles, nine interceptions and eight forced fumbles, but his output dropped in his 21 games with the Ravens, where he failed to record an interception, made 38 tackles and had five passes defensed.

--Former Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Jerrell Freeman announced his retirement from the NFL after six seasons in the league.

An undrafted free agent and Canadian Football League star, Freeman turned 32 on Tuesday, about 2 1/2 months after he was released by the Bears.

Coming out of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2008, Freeman signed with the Tennessee Titans before winding up as a star in the CFL for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 2009-11. Freeman joined the Colts in 2012 and started 57 games over the ensuing four seasons, racking up 478 tackles and 12.0 sacks in that span, before spending the last two years in Chicago.

--Field Level Media

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