Texans: Justin Reid getting a new start with Chiefs

The Houston Texans are letting another player walk in free agency.

When the Houston Texans drafted Justin Reid in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, it felt like a good pick for the franchise, and after four seasons with the Texans it appears Reid’s time in Houston has come to an end.

Adam Schefter of ESPN.com and other national media outlets are reporting Reid intends to sign a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.

It appears he’s taking the same route as former Texans safety Tyrann Mathieu, who also left the Texans to join the Chiefs a few years back in free agency. Mathieu played just one season with the Texans, but he still was able to make a solid impact on the franchise in that season.

Here is what Schefter tweeted about Reid’s new deal with the Chiefs:

Reid has some solid moments with the Texans the past four seasons, and he also has moments that weren’t so great, but that can be said about any NFL player or at any job. Being a third-round pick with the Texans (68th overall) in ’18 Reid performed well at times, but his best season with the team seemed to be his rookie season.

As a rookie with the Houston Texans, Reid totaled a career-high three interceptions where he had his lone regular-season touchdown, being a 101-yard interception return. That was the only season where he played 16 games, making 12 starts as a rookie.

It seemed since the end of the ’21 season Reid wasn’t returning to the Texans, as he was benched and missed a game in late November due to a team rules violation.

Reid played in 13 of the 17 Houston Texans’ games in ’21, finishing the year with two interceptions, once forced fumble, four passes defensed, two tackles for loss and 41 solo tackles.

Pro Football Focus gave Reid a grade of 50.1 this past season, saying he was targeted 19 times, allowing 13 receptions. That grade was down from his ’20 season where it was 60.7, and that year Reid allowed 26 receptions on 38 targets as a safety.

Houston Texans: Who is left at safety on the current roster?

According to the OurLads.com depth chart page, the two free safeties left on the roster of the Houston Texans are Terrence Brooks and AJ Moore.

This means either the Texans will be working hard in free agency to fill that void, or the 2022 NFL Draft is going to be huge for the Texans when it comes to finding some help at that position. One player who has been linked to the Texans with the third overall pick is Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton.

Hamilton is the top-ranked safety in the ’22 draft class, and he could be who general manager Nick Caserio selects with that pick, plus the head coach is Lovie Smith and he’s running the defense.

Reid played well with the Houston Texans in his tenure, but it was time for him to have a fresh start after this past season with the Texans. Caserio is bringing in players he’s picked for the most part, and Reid was drafted by Bill O’Brien in ’18 when he was calling the shots.

How the Texans replace Reid — who made 13 starts in ’21 and 53 starts in 57 games — in the secondary, but overall the feeling here is both Reid and the Texans will be better off with a fresh start.

Reid joins a Super Bowl contender for his fifth NFL season, and the Texans continue to build the team that Caserio has a vision for.

Now for the sake of the Houston Texans, they must make the correct decisions as to who will replace Reid moving forward, as improving the defense is a must in ’22 or the rebuild will be an even longer process.