The NFL Players Association on Monday filed two claims on behalf of former San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid, a 26-year-old unsigned free agent who believes that teams are refusing to sign him because he has protested during pregame national anthem ceremonies.

The actions taken by the NFL players’ union Monday are separate from the collusion grievance Reid and his attorney Mark Geragos filed against the NFL last week.

Monday’s filings by the NFLPA included a noninjury grievance specific to Reid’s free-agent visits and a more general “system arbitrator case” alleging that any team that asks prospective signees whether they plan to protest during the anthem is engaged in bad-faith negotiation.

“Prior to the start of the current NFL off-season, our Union directed the agents of free agent players who had participated in peaceful on-field demonstrations to collect, memorialize and report any relevant information about potential violations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement by teams,” the NFLPA said in a statement announcing the claims Monday.

The union’s statement lists five bullet points as justification for the claims:

• “There is no League rule that prohibits players from demonstrating during the national anthem.”

• “The NFL has made it clear both publicly and to the NFLPA that they would respect the rights of players to demonstrate.”

• “The Collective Bargaining Agreement definitively states that the League (NFL) rules supersede any conflicting club rules.”

• “According to our information, a club appears to have based its decision not to sign a player based on the player’s statement that he would challenge the implementation of a club’s policy prohibiting demonstration, which is contrary to the League policy.”

• “At least one club owner has asked pre-employment interview questions about a player’s intent to demonstrate. We believe these questions are improper, given League policy.”

The statement does not mention a specific team or teams in connection with the final two points, but it has been reported that Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown asked Reid during his visit with the Bengals whether he planned to continue protesting during the pregame national anthem. Reid, who joined with former 49ers teammate Colin Kaepernick in 2016 when the latter began his protests of social injustice during the anthem and continued them last year, said earlier this offseason that he didn’t plan to continue the protests.

PITTSBURGH — Mason Rudolph has no hard feelings over Ben Roethlisberger’s comments.

Roethlisberger on Friday told radio station 93.7 The Fan that he was surprised the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Rudolph in the third round over players who can “help this team now,” and he hedged when asked about playing any sort of mentor role.

Appearing on NFL Network over the weekend, Rudolph seemed to understand Roethlisberger’s perspective.

“If I was Ben, I’d probably say the same thing,” the former Oklahoma State quarterback said on the network’s “Path To The Draft” broadcast. “He’s a competitor. Obviously, he has a lot of confidence in himself, like I do. And, yeah, he’s going to be a future Hall of Famer, and I would expect him to say that. So I’m just looking forward to going in there and learning the system, competing, raising my level of play, preparing like I’m the starter even though obviously I won’t be the starter and just waiting and being prepared for whenever I get my time. Whenever my time comes, to be ready and take advantage of it.”

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  Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was surprised the Steelers selected Mason Rudolph in the third round of last week’s draft. Roethlisberger had informed management early in the offseason that he planned to play at least three more years.

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  Baker Mayfield insists there will be no tension between himself and Tyrod Taylor in the competition for the Browns’ starting quarterback job.

Roethlisberger respected the talent of receiver Martavis Bryant, who was shipped to Oakland in a trade for the draft selection that facilitated the Rudolph move. That’s one reason Roethlisberger might be stressing the win-now theme, though the Steelers went receiver in the second round, selecting Rudolph’s playmaking teammate James Washington.

BEREA, Ohio – Cleveland Browns rookie wide receiver Antonio Callaway said his positive drug test at this year’s scouting combine was the result of a dilute sample and that he’s taking steps to put his troubled past behind him.

“I had a diluted sample,” Callaway, the Browns’ fourth-round pick in last week’s NFL draft, said between workouts at the team’s rookie minicamp Saturday. “I didn’t intentionally do it, but I take responsibility for my test. That was a wake-up call, but like I’ve said, day by day I’m still getting better as a person, as a player, as a man, as a father. I’ve got a daughter. She’s going to be 3 months old next week.”

Callaway was seen by many as a talented enough player to be drafted in the early rounds, but he fell to the fourth because of significant off-field concerns. He was suspended from the Florida Gators football team for all of 2017 for allegedly using stolen credit card information to fund bookstore accounts. He was cited after a traffic stop in May 2017 for misdemeanor marijuana possession and possession of drug equipment. And he was cleared of sexual assault allegations by a Title IX hearing officer in August 2016 after his accuser and her witnesses boycotted the hearing because the hearing officer was a Gators football booster.

“I was young, that’s all. Immature,” Callaway said of his list of transgressions. “I was just living in the moment. I knew I had to grow and learn from my mistakes. When I got suspended, I didn’t think it would cost me the NFL. I just knew that it would hurt. Because I know my talent. I’m pretty good at football.”

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, also from Miami, reached out to Callaway on Twitter recently and has been spending time working out with him and trying to help him prepare for life in the NFL.

RENTON, Wash. — Shaquem Griffin said he has no problem with all the attention he has received as perhaps the biggest story of the 2018 NFL draft. But after what he described as a “whirlwind” period of media interviews and an unforgettable experience on draft day, he’s turning his focus squarely to football.

“Now that’s over with and it’s time for us to get to work and make sure I give high competition,” he said, “make sure I give the coaches a chance to see who I am and make sure I can do my best to make sure I can make my players better and help anybody I can.”

The first step toward that goal came Friday, when Griffin joined the Seattle Seahawks’ other eight draft picks, 15 undrafted free agents and dozens of other players for the start of the team’s three-day rookie minicamp. It was Griffin’s first practice with the Seahawks since they chose him in the fifth round, making him the first player in the NFL’s modern era with one hand to be drafted and reuniting him with his twin brother, Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin, in the process.

“Quem looked very aggressive,” coach Pete Carroll said of Friday’s practice. “We had to slow him down in some stuff early in the practice. In the walk-throughs, he was going too hard so we had to chill him out a little bit. But he’s very excited about being here. He’s a very, very good-looking prospect. He’s big and fast and he had a good feel for what’s going on. Obviously, [Shaquill] had done a little bit of tutoring. He was ahead of us a little bit, which was good.”

The speed that the Seahawks had to temper Friday was part of what drew them to Griffin, who was clocked at 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine — the fastest time by a linebacker in more than a decade. The Seahawks are putting him at the weak-side linebacker spot, where they feel his speed and relatively smaller frame are best suited. For now, he’s projected to back up former Pro Bowler K.J. Wright and compete for a part-time role on defense in addition to playing on special teams.

• The Griffin twins have enjoyed becoming friends with Hulk Hogan, who coincidentally knew their dad back when he towed the wrestler’s cars to be fixed.

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  Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril, who suffered a severe neck injury last season, was released by the team after failing a physical.