Houston Texans’ Ed Reed Might Not Be Ready to Play Week 1
By Josh Hill
The Houston Texans thought they were getting a steal when they signed future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed away from the Baltimore Ravens, but while Baltimore stiffed him due to a tight budget, his injury concerns likely played a role in his release. The Houston Texans are finding that out the hard way as Reed as come forth to say he doesn’t think he’ll be ready to start this season healthy.
Reed spoke at the Baltimore Ravens White House visit on Wednesday and stated that he plans to play the first week of the season but he’s not going to force himself if he’s not ready.
“I plan on being back for Week 1,” Reed said, via the Baltimore Ravens official team website. “But as you’ve known me for the longest time, I’m going to be smart about my injuries and make sure I’m there for the later part of the season when the team really needs me.”
The Texans are hoping that Reed can fill a hole in their secondary but also bring a veteran leadership the team really hasn’t had from the outside before. There are leaders like Arian Foster and Brian Cushing on the team but they’ve all come from within the organization and don’t have the wealth of championship knowledge Reed brings.
I said the same thing about Rip Hamilton coming to the Chicago Bulls, as he added a deep postseason knowledge outside of that anyone on the team possessed. Reed is a better example of this as he can be a locker room guy as well as a mentor to a team that is still quite young and experienced up to a point when it comes to the playoffs.
Reed won’t miss the whole season and he may not end up missing the start of the season, but Houston may not need him on the field to make a difference in the direction of the team.