Justin Reid plays safety for the Chiefs, but he’s a valuable backup kicker.
Reid put a ball on the ground using a kicker’s warmup stand and blasted a 65-yard field goal in practice yesterday, clearing the cross bar with room to spare. Granted, he was doing it without a snap, hold and rush, which makes it easier than game conditions, but to make a kick from 65 yards under any conditions is an incredible feat of leg strength.
This isn’t the first time Reid has shown off his kicking skills. In last year’s final preseason game, Reid kicked off for the Texans because their regular kicker got hurt in pregame warmups. Two of his kickoffs went inside the 5-yard line and resulted in the Texans tackling the returner inside the 25, and on one of them Reid actually ran down the field and got in on the tackle. After that game he said he was thrilled the team gave him the opportunity to kick in a game.
“I’ve been looking forward to this moment for so long, I can’t tell you how excited I was when the coaches said, ‘You’re up this game,’” Reid said. “I was like, ‘Really I get one?’ They said, ‘No, you’re up the whole game.’ I was excited to be out there. It was a dream come true.”
Reid looks like he could genuinely make it as a kicker in the NFL.