WATCH: Safety Justin Reid handles kickoff duties for Houston Texans
Houston Texans safety Justin Reid lined up with the kickoff team for Saturday’s preseason finale. With the team shorthanded, Reid served as an emergency kicker against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His opening kickoff wasn’t too bad either. It was even notable enough for the NFL itself to make note of on Twitter.
Reid was first spotted kicking in pregame warm ups. He didn’t kick any field goals in the game, but he showed off a part of his talent that not many knew he had. The Texans selected the former Stanford player in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft. He has started in 40 of his 44 games in the league.
He finished with three interceptions to go with 10 passes defended as a rookie. Both are career highs.
He played three seasons at Stanford from 2015-17. The Cardinal finished 9-5 in his last year, losing in both the Pac-12 Championship to USC and the Alamo Bowl against TCU.
The Texans lost for the first time this preseason, 23-16 to their record to 2-1. Davis Mills led the team in passing with 106 yards and two touchdowns. Tyrod Taylor also got some action, going 6-of-9 for 31 yards passing.
The Buccaneers, on the contrary, earned their first win of the preseason. Tom Brady passed for 154 yards and a touchdown while Florida rookie Kyle Trask finished with 146 yards and a touchdown. The rookie actually had the slightly higher completion rate, too (79% compared to 86%).
With the preseason now behind us, we can begin to look forward to football that actually counts. Houston opens its season on Sept. 12 at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Starting kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, who missed Saturday as a precautionary measure, will likely be back by then. So it’s doubtful we see another Texans kickoff from Justin Reid. However, it’s nice to see some of the athletic ability that Reid has in him. Hopefully the safety can use it to improve the defense in 2021.