Carolina Panthers

Colin Kaepernick says he's THRILLED his pal, Eric Reid, is back in the NFL -- but claims the safety shoulda been signed WAY earlier.

"Congratulations to my brother [Eric Reid], an all pro safety who should have been signed the first day of free agency, who has signed a football contract," Kaep posted.

"He has was the FIRST person to kneel alongside me. Eric is a social justice warrior, continues to support his wife, two beautiful daughters and communities in need."

Kaep and Reid were teammates on the 49ers and have been good friends for a WHILE.

In fact, when the guys found themselves jobless after the kneeling demonstrations -- they hired the same lawyers to sue the NFL for collusion ... claiming they'd been blackballed.

As for Kaep's claim Reid shoulda been signed sooner, he's right -- Reid's just 26 years old, has a Pro Bowl on his resume AND had 67 tackles and 2 picks last season.

Reid's new teammate, Torrey Smith, also commented -- saying, "I’m excited. It shouldn’t have taken this long, a person with his talent."

"We all understand the reason why."

Eric Reid -- who filed a collusion grievance against the NFL -- has just signed a 1-year contract with the Carolina Panthers, the team announced.

Reid was widely considered one of the best free agent safeties on the market -- but he believed he was being blackballed, like Colin Kaepernick, for taking a knee during the national anthem at NFL games.

Eric and Colin were teammates on the 49ers. They're still good friends and are using the same lawyers -- Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas -- to go after the NFL for collusion.

Reid is a former Pro Bowl safety who racked up 67 tackles and 2 interceptions last season -- and many believe he should have easily gotten a roster spot in 2018 based on his talent.

Reid, 6'1" and 215 pounds, played the first five seasons of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers after being selected by the team in the first round (18th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.

“Eric has been a starting safety in the NFL and has played at a high level throughout his career," Panthers GM Marty Hurney said.

"After we put (safety) Da’Norris Searcy on injured reserve, Ron (Rivera) and I discussed our options, and Eric was at the top of our list. He is a physical safety with good ball skills and play-making ability."

Reid is already at the team facility.

Story developing ...

Mike Tolbert only needed to see 17 seconds of Greg Hardy in an Octagon to make a HUGE prediction about his ex-NFL teammate ... telling TMZ Sports, "I could see him being the heavyweight champ of the UFC one day!"

The ex-Panthers fullback -- who was with Hardy for three seasons in Carolina -- tells us he was so impressed with Greg after his fight Tuesday ... he sees a belt in Hardy's future.

"I think if he stays true to it and puts all of his effort into it and continues training," Tolbert says, "... I think he'll be one of the top names in the UFC the next few years."

It's a big statement from Mike ... considering Greg's two fights in a UFC Octagon only total 74 seconds -- but Tolbert knows firsthand what Greg's capable of achieving.

"One of the most athletic people I've ever played with," Mike says.

Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has been hit with a $2.75 MILLION fine by the NFL for workplace misconduct -- misconduct which included sexual harassment and racist language.

The NFL says an investigation into Richardson substantiated the claims made by Panthers employees who claimed Richardson sexually harassed female staffers and used the n-word.

The NFL says the investigation -- led by former U.S. attorney Mary Jo White -- also showed the improper conduct in the organization was limited to Richardson.

In other words, they don't believe it's a staff-wide problem.

As for his punishment, the NFL says Richardson's massive fine will mostly go to organizations that support domestic violence and sexual assault victims ... as well as places that fight racial discrimination.

Antonio Brown and Cam Newton worked out with each other in Miami this week ... and as the Panthers star QB put it -- there was "so much swag and juice" on the videos of it all ... "your phone probably leakin' right now!!"

Before you get ahead of yourself ... Cam's in the middle of a monster 5-year deal with Carolina, and A.B.'s in a huge 4-year contract of his own with the Steelers ... so this ain't a preview of anything.

But still ... it's one of the top QBs in the NFL with the best wideout in the game ... and it's awesome to see.

If you're unfamiliar ... A.B.'s been in Florida this offseason, grinding away with a crazy trainer -- and he's had fellow NFLers tag along sometimes. This week was Cam's turn.

They banged out abs with weights ... then hit the football field, where Newton dropped some heavy long balls to the Pittsburgh wideout.

Sadly ... unless A.B. posts more clips these next few weeks -- you won't see this on a football field again, 'cause there's no way in hell their teams are trading them away.

The Carolina Panthers just fulfilled a badass little girl's wish ... and they might have found the team's future linebacker in the process.

And, we're only kinda kidding.

13-year-old Kyleigh -- who's battling a severe endocrine disorder -- worked with Make-a-Wish Foundation to not only MEET the Panthers, but train with them as well ... and she crushed it.

Superstar linebacker Thomas Davis hooked Kyleigh up with a helmet, jersey, gloves and team uni ... and let her rip into one of Carolina's OTA practices.

Turns out, she's pretty damn good.

"Kyleigh hit harder than Cap! Kyleigh hit harder than Cap!" Davis said, referring to DB Captain Munnerlyn.

Kyleigh's a legit athlete ... having won two wrestling championships ... and T.D. says the Panthers can learn as much from her as she can learn from them.

Was Diddy successful in his bid to buy the Carolina Panthers? Uh uh, uh uh.

Despite teaming up with Philadelphia 76ers owner Michael Rubin, Diddy's ownership group was NOT selected to purchase the NFL team ... instead, the new owner will be hedge fund manager David Tepper.

Remember, Diddy publicly said he wanted to be the first black owner in the NFL -- and hoped the move would inspire and empower black America.

He even got support from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft who said, "I'm a big fan of his."

But it was all for naught ... with Tepper reportedly sealing the purchase for more than $2 BILLION from Jerry Richardson, who paid $206 million for the rights to start the team in 1993.

As for Tepper, he's not exactly an outsider ... he was already a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 72-year-old man who was rescued by Christian McCaffrey and his brother just got hooked up AGAIN -- this time the NFL star sent AWESOME Panthers gifts to celebrate being discharged from the hospital.

As we previously reported, Christian -- along with his brothers and friends -- spotted 72-year-old Dan Smoker, who had suffered serious injuries after falling 20 feet during a hike in Colorado.

Christian's group rushed to help -- with one of McCaffrey's friends performing chest compressions when the inured man stopped breathing. Christian called 911 and prayed with the man and his grandson until help arrived.

Smoker suffered major injuries -- including several broken bones and bleeding on the brain -- but he's made a spectacular recovery and was recently released from the hospital.

To celebrate, Christian sent Dan and his family a gift basket with autographed jerseys and an invite to a Panthers home game!

Gotta love a story with a happy ending!

Cam Newton did a really cool thing in Atlanta on Thursday ... rolling through a DICK'S Sporting Goods store to help a bunch of Special Olympics athletes crush a $200 shopping spree!!!

We're told there were 17 athletes at the store -- all local kids (from the same area where Cam grew up) ranging in age from 5 to 18.

Each athlete got $200 to spend in the store ($3,400 in total) -- from shoes to training gear or jerseys -- and Cam made sure each kid got the best stuff!

In fact, when one of the athletes (a Golden State Warriors fan) was having trouble deciding between a Steph Curry jersey and a Kevin Durant jersey ... Cam helped the guy make up his mind.

Wanna guess which one he chose?

TMZ Sports has obtained the harrowing 911 call Christian McCaffrey made to help save a stranger's life ... and it details how serious the accident was.

Christian, a friend, and his brother, Max -- a 49ers WR -- were hiking at Castle Rock, Colorado on March 3 when they spotted a 72-year-old man fall off a cliff ... landing on a rock 12 feet below.

McCaffrey sprang into action ... personally calling 911 and pleading for help to arrive ASAP.

The situation was clearly dire with CM telling the operator, "He's breathing barely."

While they waited for help, Christian can be heard telling people at the scene ... "Everybody say a prayer."

Diddy says he's 100% serious about buying the Carolina Panthers, and the reason he's doing it couldn't be more important ... 'cause he says it's all to inspire and empower black America.

Puff sat down with the crew on "The Breakfast Club" when he was asked if there were any updates on his efforts to purchase the squad.

Diddy made it clear it's totally real -- he's putting an investment group together -- and told everyone why he thought it was important for the black community to have NFL ownership.

"It was never about me buying the Panthers, it was always about we. It was always about we need a team. I jumped out there to make sure that they understood that they have to consider some black ownership right now with 80%, 70% of the league being African-American. It's just time."

Diddy goes on to say he gets why some people think he won't be able to do it ... there's a lot of yellow tape -- but it's clear he doesn't think anyone can stop him.

T.I. says he does NOT want in on Diddy and Steph Curry's bid to buy the Carolina Panthers ... 'cause owning a team ain't all it's cracked up to be.

The rap star broke it down for us out in Beverly Hills ... telling TMZ Sports he wouldn't wanna blow his bankroll when the league rules with an iron fist.

"I don't wanna spend a bunch of money on something that I can't do what I want, when I want," T.I. said.

"If I spend tens of millions or hundreds of millions, I want full rein and jurisdiction over everything ... you can't do that with the NFL."

The Carolina Panthers are officially for sale now that their season is over ... and Steph Curry says he's willing to do "whatever it takes" to be one of the team's new owners.

After TMZ Sports caught up with the NBA superstar on Friday and asked about joining Diddy in pursuing the Panthers ... Steph doubled down on his serious interest to reporters at Warriors practice on Monday.

"It's a pretty interesting opportunity. I've had conversations with many people about the right way to go about it and different approaches I can personally take."

Steph says he's already had talks with Diddy about the "different opportunities and options" they can pursue together ... but it definitely sounds like Curry is serious about being involved.

The co-founder of the Boston University CTE Center believes Cam Newton suffered a concussion during Sunday's NFL playoff game ... and says Cam's excuse for going back in the game is a joke.

The Panthers QB was rocked in the 4th quarter of the Wild Card game against the Saints -- collapsing while jogging toward the sideline.

He was examined by medical personnel and was cleared to reenter the game. Newton later said he did NOT feel like he had a concussion, but suffered an eye injury from his helmet slipping down.

Sure.

Enter Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. -- one of the most famous and esteemed CTE experts in the world ... who also played college football and wrestled for the WWE.

"This 'Cam Newton's visor poked him in the eye' is the greatest storyline in the history of sports," Nowinski said.

"And I'm saying that as a former WWE wrestler. Watch the video, you don't collapse after that him because you need ice on your face. It's a #concussion."

Diddy has another big supporter in his corner in his quest for NFL ownership -- with Al Sharpton saying the business mogul could fix a BUNCH of the league's PR problems.

"He would be the perfect mixture of business acumen and pizzazz," Sharpton said -- pointing to Diddy's success in music and fashion.

Sharpton also thinks Colin Kaepernick deserves a place at the owner's table -- saying his knowledge as a "football scholar" would pair perfectly with Diddy.

Jay Glazer says the NFL should be rollin' out the red carpet for Diddy -- 'cause they need him more than he needs them.

We got the NFL Insider leaving Craig's in L.A. ... and Jay told us why the league would be lucky to bring on a man of Diddy's diverse talents.

"Great businessman, guy knows sports ... the NFL needs more people like Diddy in the league who can kinda forward think a little bit more and certainly knows how to build a brand," Glazer told TMZ Sports.

So when it comes to Puff potentially buying the Carolina Panthers -- Jay's with Nipsey Hussle.