The last time the Chiefs signed a free agent safety who last played for the Texans it worked out pretty well for them. Kansas City added Tyrann Mathieu in 2019, and he made three Pro Bowls and earned two All-Pros.
Now, the Chiefs are replacing Mathieu with Justin Reid, who signed a three-year, $31.5 million deal, which includes $20 million guaranteed.
Only 10 weeks into his tenure with the Chiefs, Reid already has become the leader of the defense, which has eight new players in the secondary.
“You earn it every day,” Reid said, via Nate Taylor of TheAthletic.com. “In my role in the back end, your teammates (have to) know you’re going to be where you’re going to be and you’re going to handle your responsibility on the field. That’s what comes first. Your leaders need to be your best players, but your best players also have to be your hardest workers. I live by that.”
Reid expects coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense to be the “most fun defense” he has played in. In Houston, he spent two years playing for defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, one for Anthony Weaver and one for Lovie Smith.
Spagnuolo’s playbook is deeper than any he had with the Texans.
“It’s because the defense is so versatile,” Reid said of Spagnuolo’s system. “Not only do we have, like, a hundred plays that we’re able to game plan, pick and choose which weapons we want to use against opponents coming in the future, but also taking advantage of opportunities like this where you get to play against our offense, which is undoubtedly one of the most firepower-packed offenses in the league. When you get to play against those guys every day, it makes the whole team better.”
