Houston Texans: Eric Reid remains perfect safety addition

Free-agent safety Eric Reid would be a fantastic addition to the Houston Texans secondary.

The Houston Texans and the other 31 NFL teams are at the dead part of the offseason, but they are still looking for talent that can help improve their chances for a Super Bowl run in 2020. Defensive back Eric Reid fits the billing as one of the players the Texans could target to improve their defense heading into this season.

Justin Reid put his seal of approval on the possibility of Eric signing with the Texans, and he spoke of his possible fit in Houston in our interview that covered a wide range of topics.

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“If my brother were to sign, I see him being a dime backer and the other starting safety. His ability to read coverages, learn the playbook, he really is a bigger version of me. He’s got more power, a little more aggressive, a little more of a harder hitter. The communication and chemistry we’d have together would be on another level, like nothing the NFL has ever seen. I know there is a couple of siblings; I don’t know how many of them have both started on the defense at the same time. With how close we are, how much we would be able to attack the intellectual side of the game as well as the physical side of the game.

Talking ball all the time, I would go over to his house and eat dinner with his family and him and my nieces. We’d just be talking ball about the game plan that’s happening that week. We’d be able to do all types of things that are out of the box because we would be so willing to put in so much extra time into it just because we would be hanging out all the time anyway. It would be an unbelievable chance if that were to happen. It would be one of the coolest and most dominant tandems that would enter the NFL.”

There would be no worries of Reid having to catch up on the playbook with his younger brother willing to help him learn it, and there isn’t a lot that Reid hasn’t seen since being drafted in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

At 28 years of age, Reid remains in his prime as a safety, and he demonstrated his ability to make an impact on defense last season. He was second the Panthers with 120 total tackles and was the first safety in franchise history to have four sacks in a season.

Reid played 99 percent of the snaps on the defense last season despite dealing with a shoulder injury, sprained ankle and sprained MCL. It’s incredible to put into perspective that he still managed to break two single-season records with Carolina in the process.

His coverage took a hit last season after he surrendered 750 yards, eight touchdowns, and had a 149.1 passer rating when targeted. But there is optimism that part of his game can improve as he gets healthier through the off-season. Despite his struggles in coverage, Reid remained a game-changer for the Panthers defense with his ability to be in the right place to make the tackle and with the talent to be placed in different positions on the field to make plays.

The Texans are taking a calculated risk heading into next season, with Justin Reid being the only safety in the depth chart to start in at least15 games through an NFL regular season. The only other safety that comes near to near that mark was Michael Thomas when he started 13 games with the Miami Dolphins in 2015. However, Thomas has been a special teams ace for the majority of his career and has earned Pro Bowl honors on special teams rather than contributing heavily on defense.

Safety has been a shaky spot in the past and Reid would be an upgrade over the safeties that the Texans had to rely on last season in Jahleel Addae and Mike Adams. Texans could use a player of Reid’s pedigree to solidify the safety position and help improve the defense for this upcoming season.