Eric Reid Blasts Eagles' Malcolm Jenkins for Being a 'Sellout'

The Carolina Panthers' Eric Reid called Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcom Jenkins a "sellout" as the row between the two players escalated on Sunday.

The duo's divergent opinions have been well publicized since Jenkins stopped kneeling in protest during the national anthem after it was announced that the NFL would donate $100 million to causes the Players Coalition deems worthy.

Jenkins, a two-time Super Bowl winner, is among the co-founders of the Players Coalition, an organization made up of NFL players that aims to address important social issues.

"He was corrupt from the jump," Reid said in the locker room postgame, as reported by the NFL's official website. "He knew what he was doing from the offset. His goal was to sell us, and he did that."

Jenkins and Reid exchanged words in the warmup ahead of the Panthers' visit to Philadelphia on Sunday, and the latter had to be restrained and kept away from Jenkins while the Eagles were introduced. Reid, who was the first player to join Colin Kaepernick's protest against racial and social injustice, then kneeled during the national anthem.

However, Reid had to be restrained again as Jenkins and the captains walked onto the field for the coin toss, and the duo continued to exchange menacing stares during the Eagles's first couple of drives, even though Jenkins was off the field.

The former Ohio State student had been raising a fist for two seasons during the national anthem but agreed to end the protest after speaking with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league's player liaison, Troy Vincent.

In return, the NFL committed to donating a large sum of money to initiatives close to the Players Coalition, which Reid, who withdrew from the coalition in November last year, felt was a betrayal of the protest movement started by Kaepernick.

"I believe Malcolm [Jenkins] capitalized on the situation," he said, according to ESPN. "He co-opted with the movement that was started by Colin to get his organization started. It was cowardly. He sold us out."

Like Kaepernick, who backed his former 49ers teammate's stance on Sunday, Reid filed a grievance accusing NFL team owners of colluding with one another to prevent him from returning to the league.

Kaepernick became a free agent ahead of last season but wasn't given a tryout by any of the 32 franchises, while Reid found himself without a team at the end of the last campaign.

However, while the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is still a free agent, Reid signed with the Panthers last month to replace Da'Norris Searcy, who was placed on injured reserve after suffering his second concussion in a month.

Despite their obvious disagreements, Jenkins insisted he was on the same side of the divide as Reid.

"Eric Reid is somebody I'm rooting for," he told reporters after the game. "I'm very proud of [him]. Putting his livelihood on the line to fight for those who don't have voices."

On Sunday, the Panthers came back from 17-0 down to win 21-17. They are in second place in the NFC South with a 4-2 record, while the Eagles are 3-4 and sit second in the NFC East.