Panthers' home-run signing of Eric Reid solidifies David Tepper's status as NFL's most interesting owner

Sometimes in your work life, there are moments that pleasantly take you by surprise. Like the times a hard-ass boss compliments your work, or the short-lived bliss that flows after knowing you successfully completed a task.

Well, that’s what experiencing David Tepper’s first news conference as the owner of the Carolina Panthers back in May was like.

I’m in my sixth year covering the NFL, so I’m all too used to the stodgy, self-important, stiff patriarchs who make up most of the league’s ownership. This isn’t always their fault. Generational wealth tends to do that to people, and make no mistake about it, the NFL is right up there with Major League Baseball as the most old-money sports league in America.

So yeah, back in May at the NFL’s owners meetings in Atlanta, I wrongfully assumed that Tepper, a billionaire hedge-fund manager whose $2.3 billion purchase of the Panthers from old-school vanguard Jerry Richardson was made official then, would be like that, too.

But he wasn’t. Not even close.

Instead, what we got during Tepper’s introductory media conference was a balding, bespectacled man with a quick grin and quirky sense of humor, someone who teased a well-known reporter — “Hey, I saw you on TV!” he said before awkwardly asking if his hair color was real — and generally behaved like a man who understands that maybe football isn’t that serious (gasp!), and that all of this is supposed to be fun.

Tepper has continued to step out on his own in the months since his purchase. While a healthy contingent of the league’s owners have remained fearful of President Donald Trump and his anti-NFL tweets regarding players who protested police brutality and racial injustice, Tepper ripped Trump in an interview on CNBC a few weeks ago, calling him “a red-headed guy in D.C.” and noting that NFL players are among the “most patriotic people” in the country, largely due to the substantial charity work many players quietly do in their communities.

“That was the biggest pile of bull-dinky ever,” Tepper said, referring to Trump’s intimations that protesting players are unpatriotic. “These are some of the most patriotic people, best people, [ever]. There are great young men. And to say that, it just makes me so aggravated and angry. It’s just wrong.”

The quote is, without a shadow of a doubt, among the strongest defenses of the league’s players levied by any NFL team owner. It caught the attention of plenty of the league’s African-American players, many of whom have quietly noted how silent or lukewarm their employers have been whenever they’ve come under attack by Trump.

And now, by signing safety Eric Reid — a player who is held in high regard by many African-American players, along with Colin Kaepernick, for their commitment to their cause — it’s another plus in Tepper’s short stewardship. Over the past several months, I’ve talked to several players about Reid, and to a man, they’ve all shook their heads and wondered why he hasn’t been signed.

This was done only days after Carolina receiver Torrey Smith, a former teammate of Reid’s in San Francisco, lobbied for the Panthers to sign him. It reflects an open-mindedness that many other safety-needy franchises did not have, and it will not be forgotten. Rest assured, money and security will always be the most important factors for free-agent players, but if all things are equal, don’t be surprised to see some socially conscious players use the owner’s track record as tie-breaking criterion in the future.

The Panthers reportedly did not ask Reid if he plans to keep kneeling during the anthem, and yes, it’s possible that doing so would have resulted in a similar CBA complaint the Cincinnati Bengals currently find themselves in after they brought it up during Reid’s visit several months ago.

But if the photo the Panthers tweeted out after they signed Reid on Thursday is any indication — he held up his right fist, a nod to black empowerment — it’s clear that Reid remains socially conscious, and the Panthers deserve credit for not being scared away by whatever could come of that, unlike other teams. That much is doubly true if Reid’s signing will indeed have little impact on his ongoing collusion grievance against the NFL, as has been reported.

But for as much as the Panthers and Tepper stand to gain in the eyes of players and socially conscious African-Americans for signing Reid — I wouldn’t be shocked to see black Panthers fans swoop up scores of Reid jerseys — the truth is, the biggest reason the move is a home run is because of football reasons.

The Panthers are off to a solid 2-1 start, the same as divisional foes Atlanta and Tampa Bay, both of whom are averaging at least 26 points a game. The Panthers might have the least explosive offense of any of the NFC South teams — even the Falcons (1-2) have scored more points than them and could have used Reid — so they don’t have much room for error if they want to make the playoffs, and they need to take any upgrade they can get on defense.

There’s little doubt Reid will help a safety corps that is still reeling following the season-ending concussion suffered by starter Da’Norris Searcy over a week ago, and Reid remains an excellent player, one who would have been signed months ago if he didn’t have the gall to peacefully protest what he believes in.

At 26, he is still in his prime. The former Pro Bowler had 67 tackles, two interceptions and four passes defensed in his last season with the 49ers before he hit free agency in March. He does his best work in the box but he can help the Panthers in a variety of positions, be it as a traditional safety, slot corner or linebacker, where the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder offers both range against the pass and a “special physicality” — as one NFL coach recently told Yahoo Sports — against the run.

Signing Reid is a move that made too much sense not to happen. He’s a good player, and the Panthers — sensing a need in a tough division — needed a man with his skills.

It’s a shame that in a pass-happy league with few good defensive backs, it took a new owner in Tepper — who is still unencumbered by the NFL’s old guard — to make it happen.

But given the overall reticence the league’s owners have shown on this entire anthem issue, I’m just happy that one owner took a different stance, and that owner — in a league full of stodginess — continues to show that his opening news conference, full of personality and quirkiness, was no fluke.

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