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Panthers S Eric Reid ejected for dirty hit on Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger

Frank Schwab
NFL writer

It didn’t really matter that Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid made up with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after his dirty hit and gave him a fist bump. The damage was done.

And Reid was sent to the locker room.

As was the case when Cincinnati Bengals safety Shawn Williams took a cheap shot on Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in Week 1, Reid was ejected for hitting Roethlisberger. Reid head-hunted the Steelers QB, nailing him in the head with his shoulder, after Roethlisberger gave himself up and was sliding at the end of a run.

The NFL adjusted their rules to allow for ejections for egregious hits, and Reid’s hit met the criteria.

Steelers didn’t like Eric Reid’s hit

The Panthers were losing 38-14 when Roethlisberger took off on a run. Maybe it was a frustration hit from Reid. Either way, it was entirely unnecessary.

Panthers safety Eric Reid was ejected for an illegal hit on Ben Roethlisberger. (AP)
Panthers safety Eric Reid was ejected for an illegal hit on Ben Roethlisberger. (AP)

The Steelers would end up winning, 52-21.

Roethlisberger was hit long after he slid by Reid, who launched himself at Roethlisberger’s head. Multiple Steelers linemen took offense and got in Reid’s face. That was expected, so was the Reid ejection after officials conferred for a few moments.

Reid has been in the news often over the past year. He said the NFL was colluding to keep him out of a job due to him taking a knee next to Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem. He was signed by the Panthers, then confronted Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins before the game due to disagreements over the Players Coalition. Reid was fined a little more than $10,000 for unnecessary roughness on Eagles tight end Zach Ertz in that game.

Reid can expect another fine for his hit on Thursday night.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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