Kenny Vaccaro says he believes fellow safety Eric Reid should be on a team playing in the NFL. Needing a job himself Adidas Erik Karlsson Jersey , the veteran is very happy that the Tennessee Titans signed him instead.
Vaccaro signed a one-year deal with the Titans on Saturday morning and was with them for individual drills at practice at Nissan Stadium hours later. He had been waiting for a team to sign him since his contract with New Orleans expired in March.
"This has been a long time coming for me," Vaccaro said. "I was waiting on the right opportunity. I was fortunate that one opened up here and that we could get a deal done. I'm ready to work."
The Titans also signed safety Jason Thompson after placing safety Johnathan Cyprien on injured reserve Friday with a torn left ACL.
Reid, who has been looking for a job since March himself, remains unsigned since his own rookie contract expired in March with the San Francisco 49ers. He filed a claim this spring after visiting with Cincinnati, arguing he was unsigned as a result of collusion by NFL owners over his protests of police brutality and racial inequality by kneeling during the national anthem.
"He's a great man," Vaccaro said of Reid. "He's a good family man, and a great dude. He needs to be on a team. He'll get on a team. I believe in him."
Reid was headed to Nashville to work out for the Titans on Friday but reportedly had flight issues. Titans coach Mike Vrabel said he'd leave questions on what happened to Reid's workout to Reid and his agent and general manager Jon Robinson.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see him Cheap Preston Brown Jersey ," Vrabel said. "So that's really all I can comment on. I'll let Eric and his camp comment, and I'll let Jon take care of it on our end."
The 6-foot Vaccaro spent the past five years as a starter with New Orleans, starting 67 games with eight interceptions, 7 1/2 sacks and four forced fumbles. The Saints drafted him 15th overall in 2013 out of Texas. Vrabel said Vaccaro didn't look at times last year like the safety had earlier in his career but had a great workout for the Titans.
"So what we expect is that he's a pro, and he comes in and learns what to do quickly," Vrabel said. "We'll work him in there and see where he can help us. He's made plays in the National Football League, and it seems like he's starting off with a great attitude."
Vaccaro said he's a competitive person who knows he has to catch up with his new teammates in a secondary featuring All-Pro safety Kevin Byard and cornerbacks Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and Adoree Jackson.
"There's a lot of good players here Yan Gomes Jersey ," Vaccaro said. "They're loaded. Dean Pees' defense, the stuff we're going to run, it's just a good fit. I've got a good feeling about it. I haven't got to practice yet. I did a lot of different things at NOLA 鈥?nickel, dime, safety, back deep at some point, I've been in every situation."
Thompson has spent time with New England, Chicago Bengals Cheap Jerseys , Seattle and Dallas since coming into the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Utah in 2017.
AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.
Long before Colin Kaepernick's protest during the national anthem became one of the biggest issues in the NFL, Oakland Raiders tight end Jared Cook was one of a handful of St. Louis players who took part in their own on-field display against police brutality and racial injustice.
Cook was one of five players on the Rams in 2014 who mimicked the "Hands up, don't shoot" symbol during pregame introductions in support of protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, after a grand jury declined to indict a police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man, Michael Brown.
While Cook has not been a regular part of protests during the national anthem since Kaepernick first started it in 2016, he supports the cause and disagrees with the NFL's announcement last week that players would be required to stand during the national anthem.
"We're here for a bigger platform," he said Tuesday. "We're not just athletes. We're people that live this. It's people in our neighborhood Cheap Vinny Curry Jersey , it's people that we grew up with, it's people that we know who are actually living through these circumstances. So when we speak on it, it's not like we're just speaking out of the side of our neck. It's things that actually touch home and things that we can actually relate to. All I have to say is, I just think it's sad that it's veered from something that stood for good and the whole narrative has changed into something that's negative when that was not what it was initially about in the first place."
Kaepernick stoked the debate over the anthem when he began protesting police brutality and racial injustice in 2016 by refusing to stand during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before games.
Several players followed suit that year but the issue really moved to the forefront in 2017 when President Donald Trump brought it up at a campaign rally, saying NFL owners should fire any player who refused to stand during the anthem.
More than 200 players protested during the anthem that weekend before the number of protesters dwindled as the season progressed. But the league tried to settle the issue last week by mandating that players must either stand respectfully for the anthem or remain in the locker room. Teams will be subject to fines if players don't comply and will have the option of punishing players.
While other leagues like the NBA already mandate that players stand for the anthem, Cook said there could have been better consultation with the union on this issue and a way to give players an avenue to express their views on these issues.
"You look at a league like the NBA," he said. "I think the NBA always handles its social issues pretty well. It always handles its players really well and with utmost respect for the players. I think there could have been a bigger and a better way to fix the situation."
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