The New England Patriots are currently facing trouble at the safety position. Longtime starter Patrick Chung suffered a concussion in Week Two against the Jacksonville Jaguars and missed Week Three against the Detroit Lions. While he should play in Week Four, Chung’s absence highlighted just how little depth the Patriots have.

The options behind Chung are underwhelming, as Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon are both better suited for free safety. New England needs to find a safety capable of playing in the box, and fortunately, former San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid is still on the market.

Reid fits everything the Patriots need and should be brought aboard as soon as possible. There’s no such thing as too many good defensive backs, and the Patriots defense has struggled against both the pass and the run through the first three weeks of the season.

The New England Patriots Need Eric Reid

Eric Reid has been one of the better safeties in football ever since entering the league back in 2013. While he’s not Earl Thomas by any means, Reid is still a solid, consistent player in all facets of the game.

Throughout his career, Reid has 318 tackles, 10 interceptions, 34 pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and one sack. Reid’s 17 pass deflections from 2015 to 2017 are tied with Devin McCourty, Morgan Burnett, and Harrison Smith. The safety finished his 2017 season on a high note, as Pro Football Focus gave him the game ball in San Francisco’s season finale win over the Los Angeles Rams.

At age 26, Reid is still in the prime of his career. While his numbers have suffered a slight dip since Jim Harbaugh left San Francisco back in 2014, he’s still been a valuable starter at worst and a star player at best over his five years in the league.

The Perfect Fit For Chung’s Role

Now that we’ve established Eric Reid is a good football player, let’s take a look at how he’d fit in the Patriots defense. New England asks a lot out of their safeties, especially Patrick Chung. While listed as a safety, Chung really plays several different positions. On a snap-to-snap basis, Chung can go from playing box safety to linebacker to slot cornerback.

The Patriots have tried to develop an heir to Patrick Chung, but it hasn’t worked out. Jordan Richards and Tavon Wilson both fizzled out in Foxboro, primarily because they didn’t have the versatility to play linebacker, safety, and slot cornerback.

Quite frankly, there aren’t many players in the league who can do all that, but Eric Reid is one of them. While Reid primarily played safety with the 49ers, he was no stranger to moving around the defense.

Back in 2017, first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan had Reid playing multiple positions on a weekly basis. Per Pro Football Focus, Reid played linebacker, slot cornerback, and safety on a snap-by-snap basis. Nobody loves versatility more than Bill Belichick, and there aren’t many players more versatile than Eric Reid.

So Why Is He Available?

So if Reid is a good, versatile safety, why is he still on the market? Chances are, you already know the answer to this rhetorical question. Eric Reid was the first player to take a knee alongside Colin Kaepernick and is actively being forced out of the league.

Apparently, the league which employs Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Mixon, and Tyreek Hill believes that protesting racial injustice is the ultimate unforgivable sin. Mixon punched a woman in the face, Hill pled guilty to strangling his then-pregnant girlfriend, and Roethlisberger has had multiple rape charges filed against him. Eric Reid didn’t stand for a song.

These three players are not alone by any means. Obviously, not every player in the NFL is a monster like Hill. That said the league is stocked full of players with a bad history with the law. Nobody bats an eye when Mixon gets drafted in the second round, but having the audacity to kneel for 30 seconds evidently constitutes a lifelong ban from the NFL.

This is literally the only reason Reid doesn’t have a job. He’s one of the better safeties in football, has the versatility the Patriots crave and would come at a cheap cost.

The Patriots defense needs help, especially with Patrick Chung sidelined. If Bill Belichick truly puts winning above everything else, he needs to bring Eric Reid to Foxboro.

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