HOUSTON — Houston Texans starting safety Justin Reid made his return to practice Wednesday afternoon at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
Reid missed the Texans’ Week 3 loss against the Carolina Panthers due to a knee injury he sustained a week prior in a loss against the Cleveland Browns. And according to coach David Culley, his on-field contributions were missed.
“He’s the quarterback back there,” Culley said. “Having him back, having his leadership, he’s another one of those guys, his leadership back there. He’s going into his third year of starting here, and having him back will be a plus for us in securing our back end on the defensive side.”
Despite his return to practice, Culley has not officially ruled Reid activated for Sunday’s game against the 2-1 Buffalo Bills — stating he’s day-to-day.
Three games into the regular season, Reid has arguably been the Texans’ best defensive player. He has already recorded two interceptions and one forced fumble, which was recovered by linebacker Christian Kirksey in Week 2 — accounting for three of Houston’s five takeaways on the year.
If Reid is unable to play against the Bills, third-year safety Lonnie Johnson will start in his absence.
“It’s good that I get to have a partner that I have a little bit of experience with now,” Reid said when speaking on Johnson in April. “He’s a physical guy. He’s got the size, he’s got the talent, he’s got the ability.”
So, just that experience and going into year two now that has a year under the belt, a couple of pelts on the wall, is going to be big for him and we’re expecting him to come and play well.”