Eric Reid on Chance of Colin Kaepernick Returning to NFL: 'My Hope Tank Is on E'

Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid isn't optimistic an NFL team will sign Colin Kaepernick this offseason.

"Knowing what I know, my hope tank is on E," he told Joe Person of The Athletic.

On Monday, Reid signed a three-year extension with the Panthers for $22 million, and the chance to earn $24 million in total based on incentives, according to Michael Silver of NFL.com. That came after Reid missed nearly the first month of the 2018 NFL season as an unsigned free agent.

Both Reid and Kaepernick have filed collusion lawsuits against the NFL, arguing they were blackballed for kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of racial discrimination and police brutality as teammates on the San Francisco 49ers. Reid joined Kaepernick in the protest when he first started sitting and then kneeling during the anthem in the 2016 preseason.

While Reid's grievance is still active, Silver noted that Monday's signing could mean that his case is "all but finished." Kaepernick's case, meanwhile, is headed to trial.

And while Reid's NFL career continues, Kaepernick hasn't played in a game since 2016. With Reid's pessimism that Kaepernick will ever play in the league again at an all-time high, it doesn't appear the talented quarterback will ever suit up for an NFL team again.