AP

With a few scattered exceptions (notably in Miami), kneeling during the national anthem is not much of a thing any more.

But after spending the first four weeks of the season out of the league, Eric Reid brought it to Charlotte.

Prior to his first game with the Panthers, Reid took a knee, as he did when he was with the 49ers.

The Panthers insisted that the decision to sign Reid over their bye was a football only decision, though the presence of new owner David Tepper allowed it to be such. No Panthers player had ever kneeled, though defensive end Julius Peppers stayed in the locker room the week after critical comments by President Donald Trump last year.

The reaction to Reid in Charlotte has been overwhelmingly positive — based largely on football need — and we’ll see if that remains the case now that he’s shown he’ll continue to protest racial inequality and police brutality the way he and his friend Colin Kaepernick did.