The Houston Texans need to upgrade their secondary. This is not a secret. Marcus Gilchrist is due to become a free agent. However there is a player who will be a free agent who can be an instant upgrade in the defensive backfield. San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid.
San Francisco selected Reid with the 13th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Throughout his first five NFL seasons Reid has been a force. This past season Reid appeared in 13 games making 66 combined tackles, intercepting two passes and recovering one fumble. Pro Football Focus ranks Reid as the 31st safety with a grade of above average. Compared to the performance of the safety position in 2017 this is an obvious improvement.
Reid is perhaps one of the best players available in free agency who plays the safety position. Reid is also one of the younger players who has experience and has proven himself capable or performing at a high level in the NFL. However there is a reason that the Texans might not even talk to Reid.
Reid is one of many NFL players to have taken a knee during the National Anthem. This could cause an issue with Texans ownership. Bob McNair had his comment during the season about allowing players to take a knee. McNair’s personal beliefs could prevent Houston from signing an impactful player such as Reid.
Using the same train of thought this could drive down the demand for Reid in free agency. Due to Reid’s kneeling teams could completely ignore Reid and if a team does offer a contract it could be on the inexpensive side. If the Texans were smart they could use this potential scenario as a way to sign a player who can boost their defense at a discounted price. This is essential since the Texans do not currently own a pick in the first two rounds of April’s draft. The team needs to improve via free agency and Reid can be just one of the players signed by Houston to do that.
Reid can improve the Texans defense upon his signing. Houston desperately needs to improve in their secondary. Signing young and impactful players is the quickest way to improve a defense on a team who expects to make a playoff run next season. Reid’s signing will bring some press to the team. However the team to focus on football and not non-existent distractions that the media wants to perpetuate. If they can do this Reid will come to Houston and will vastly improve the Texans defense for the 2018 season.