San Francisco 49ers: 5 potential NFL trade suitors for safety Eric Reid
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers have an excess-but-valuable commodity in veteran safety Eric Reid, meaning he could be on the move by the NFL trade deadline. But where? Niner Noise looks at five possible spots.
It’s all but likely 2017 will be the final year veteran safety Eric Reid plays with the San Francisco 49ers.
Reid, 25 years old, is in the final year of his rookie deal and will hit free agency after this season, barring a re-signing of course.
Yet it doesn’t seem plausible the Niners re-sign or extend Reid, a former first-round draft pick, after the emergence of third-year safety Jaquiski Tartt.
San Francisco 49ers
Tartt’s development has taken a significant step this season, especially after Reid suffered a knee injury against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 and missed three games as a result.
Simply put, Tartt is the future. Reid is not. So it make sense, as reported by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, Reid lost his starting job at strong safety to Tartt.
This doesn’t mean Reid is without value, though. While his 43.8 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus, ranks 72nd among all safeties through seven weeks, Reid’s flexibility to play both strong and free safety does offer some merits. And the fact he’s only just entering the prime of his career should increase the value on the trade market.
Granted, NFL trade deadline deals rarely happen. When they do, they usually involve blue-chip players and late-round NFL Draft compensation.
But for the rebuilding 49ers, any compensation would be worthwhile.
So let’s look at a possible list of trade suitors for Reid’s services.