Less than 48 hours after he was released by the Houston Texans, veteran safety Ed Reed has signed a contract with the New York Jets. The Jets announced the move via their Twitter account on Thursday morning.
We bolstered our secondary THURS, agreeing to terms with Ed Reed a day after the veteran S cleared waivers.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 14, 2013
Speculation began building on Wednesday that Reed could sign with a team in the AFC East, with the Jets and New England Patriots considered to be the two likely landing spots. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have long been admirers of Reed and have publicly praised the 35-year-old’s ball skills on multiple occasions, but signing with New York gives Reed a chance to reunite with Rex Ryan.
Ryan was the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator before he became the head coach of the Jets. He coached Reed during the former Miami star’s prime, when he was obviously a much different player than he is now. Still, the Jets are in need of secondary help and lack a true free safety. Ryan still uses a similar defensive scheme to the one he used in Baltimore, so the transition should be seamless.
