Charles Goldman
March 15, 2022 6:00 am CT
The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to terms with S Justin Reid during the NFL’s legal tampering period. A former third-round draft pick in 2018, Reid spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Houston Texans. While the deal won’t be officially consummated until the NFL’s free agency period opens on Wednesday, we’re going to get to know this player a little bit better.
Here’s a quick look at four things the Chiefs Kingdom should know about their newest player.
Reid is an elite athlete
AP Photo/Darron Cummings
The Chiefs added an elite athlete in Reid.
He tested in the 94th percentile in the three-cone drill (6.65s) and the 95th percentile in the 40-yard dash (4.4s) at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine. In general, his athletic profile is top-tier. At just 25 years old, he should be entering the prime of his career with Kansas City.
Not sure if I saw much buzz about Justin Reid's day, but he put on a pretty great showing at the Combine today. #RAS
*Projected RAS pic.twitter.com/DwiNLXJ9zS
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 6, 2018
Reid is a former teammate of Tyrann Mathieu's
The player that Reid is expected to replace, was actually one of his earliest mentors. Tyrann Mathieu played for the Houston Texans on a one-year deal in 2018, which happened to be Reid’s rookie season in the NFL. He helped mentor Reid and bring him into the league that season.
“He’s been playing really well for us, coming up big, turnovers, making big, open field tackles, getting his hands on some balls,” Mathieu said of Reid after a win over the Broncos on Monday Night Football. “We’re really happy to have him. I think he’s making our defense better.”
In Week 11 of that same season, Mathieu would take to Twitter to praise Reid, claiming that he should have been a first-round draft pick. This came after Reid had a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown against former Chiefs QB Alex Smith that helped lift Houston to a 23-21 win over Washington.
Big play alert: #Texans rookie safety Justin Reid picks off Alex Smith and takes it 101 yards back the other way for a TD. pic.twitter.com/HLN4GV6oaL
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 18, 2018
Reid was the Texans' 2021 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
If history is any indication, Reid will be making some impactful contributions to the Kansas City community off the field too. He was the Texans’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee in 2021. Here is what our friends at Texans Wire had to say about his off-field excellence back then:
“Reid organized a drive-thru relief event for victims of Hurricane Ida, which hit his home state of Louisiana this summer. The drive-thru event was at NRG Stadium, and Houston residents along with Texans players showed up to help Reid raise over $10,000 and fill two 18-wheeled tractor trailers with non-perishable food, bottled water, toiletries and dog food for the devastated community. The efforts from the 2018 third-round pick netted him the NFLPA’s Week 1 Community MVP award.
The 24-year-old from Prairieville, Louisiana, also gives to Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston and Kids’ Meals.”
If he keeps this type of work up in Kansas City, who knows, maybe he’ll wind up a Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee here too.
Reid can be an emergency. . . kicker?
AP Photo/Justin Rex
Usually, if you’re a safety, you might be utilized as a cornerback or a linebacker in emergency situations. Reid, however, has a different talent that the Chiefs might one day utilize.
A former soccer player in high school, Reid was used as an emergency kicker against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. He also served as an emergency kicker for Stanford as a football player in college.
Reid has quite the leg, even kicking 50-yard field goals during practice. He also had this beauty of a kickoff during the game against the Bucs:
In case the Chiefs ever need to give Harrison Butker a day off, new safety Justin Reid has an absolute CANNON of a leg too. pic.twitter.com/Ira9p65Q0z
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 15, 2022
The Chiefs could have used Reid’s skills in 2021 when Harrison Butker missed time due to testing positive for COVID-19.
