Solomon Thomas signed his rookie contract on Friday and hit the practice field with the San Francisco 49ers. Teammate Eric Reid is doing the opposite: Hitting the field and waiting to sign that contract.
There hasn’t been any talk of an extension for Reid, and it seems in the time since he last spoke during OTAs until now, there still hasn’t been talk of an extension. Reid spoke to the media Thursday and stated just as much: Nothing has been moving for the 49ers safety.
When asked if it was on his mind as he took the field with the new coaching staff, Reid had this to say:
I definitely think about it. That’s obviously in my brain. I’m just going to continue playing football. Whatever happens, happens. I’d love to be here longer, but it’s a business and I understand that. It is what it is.
The 49ers have some notable players hitting free agency next spring. We haven’t heard talk of an extension for any of them, which makes sense. The 49ers turned over the front office and coaching staff, and are bringing in new schemes on offense and defense. The new staff has evaluation to do before they will be prepared to commit extensions to some of these players.
Reid has had to deal with some terrible 49er defensive scheming the past couple years. Under Vic Fangio (during Jim Harbaugh’s tenure) Reid made it to the Pro Bowl his rookie season and then followed up with an average season that wasn’t so much of an improvement, but nothing to scoff at.
After that, Reid was largely invisible. Former defensive coordinators Eric Mangini and Jim O’Neil called two of the worst defenses in 49er history and Reid suffered for it.
This season will be a make-it or break-it year for Reid. If he was the product of bad coaching or was simply a flash in the pan could be determined in 2017.