A grievance filed against the Bengals on behalf of Eric Reid was denied by an independent arbitrator, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The NFL Players Association filed the grievance on behalf of Reid after Bengals owner Mike Brown reportedly asked if Reid would continue standing during the national anthem. Reid was brought in by the Bengals on a free agent visit at the time but was not signed. The grievance argued that the Bengals negotiated in bad faith because the team had no intention to sign Reid if he said he would continue to kneel -- despite the fact that standing for the national anthem is not mandated in the collective bargaining agreement.