Safety Justin Reid’s final season with his original draft team may have been a 4-13 lap around the rebuild circuit, but the former 2018 third-round pick from Stanford won’t rule out returning to the Houston Texans.
Reid joined SiriusXM NFL Radio on Feb. 24 and stated that he approved of the promotion of defensive coordinator Lovie Smith to coach after the firing of David Culley.
“I think that was a tremendous move for the Houston Texans,” Reid said. “I am a big fan of him and I’m not opposed to the idea of staying either. It’s just whenever all these conversations take place and in early March, things are going to start to unravel themselves.”
Reid started out strong for the Texans in 2021 with two interceptions and a forced fumble to finish the season with 66 combined tackles and two tackles for loss through 13 games, all of which he started.
The 25-year-old from Prairieville, La., was taken by surprise along with most assistant coaches and players when they found out that Smith was a late candidate for the coaching job.
Said Reid: “Honestly, it made a bigger impact than I would have thought it would have. I didn’t know he was in the running. I think it kind of caught everybody by surprise whenever they ended up hiring him. I think he’s more than qualified. He’s done it before, he’s been to a Super Bowl and he gets his guys to play hard for him.”
Reid emphasized that he didn’t “have anything against any of the other candidates,” but only that he has immense admiration and appreciation for the 63-year-old former NFL Coach of the Year.
“I actually have a deep love and respect for coach Lovie Smith, his coaching philosophy, the way he’s able to get the best out of his players,” said Reid.