The safety class could feature quite a few notable names in free agency. One of those is Justin Reid, who, as Sarah Barshop of ESPN notes, is likely to head elsewhere on the open market.
Specifically, Barshop writes that “the Texans don’t expect Reid to be back in 2022.” as his rookie contract is set to expire. The team couldn’t agree on a new deal at any point with the 25-year-old, who was benched in a violation of team rules following a disagreement with then-head coach David Culley this past season.
Injuries have been a constant in Reid’s NFL career up to this point. He has undergone offseason surgery twice – most recently in 2020 to repair a torn labrum – and finished the 2021 campaign on IR with a wrist injury, though he has mostly been able to play through pain, earning the Ed Block Courage Award in 2019. In four seasons, Reid has suited up for 57 of a possible 65 games, demonstrating his value along the way.
Since becoming a starter shortly into his rookie season, Reid has been on the field for no less than 90% of the Texans’ defensive snaps. While it was cut short, 2021 did also see an improvement from him in pass coverage, as he allowed a completion percentage of 53%. Overall, Reid has packed the stat sheet with a total of 315 tackles, seven interceptions and 23 pass breakups with the Texans.
Reid likely won’t garner the attention or salary of the likes of Tyrann Mathieu, Jessie Bates and Quandre Diggs in the coming weeks, but he would represent a quality addition to the back end of almost any defense in the league.
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