The Kansas City Chiefs have officially added S Justin Reid on a three-year deal, in what has been their only move to acquire an outside free agent so far.
Most have felt pretty good about the signing because the Chiefs have managed to get younger at the position and didn’t break the bank to do so. Our friends over at Touchdown Wire aren’t too high on the move, though. Mark Schofield and Doug Farrar graded it as a C+ signing for Kansas City, but say that it has the potential to be a B+ signing under one condition: The team must also bring Tyrann Mathieu back.
Here’s why they’re so low on Reid’s signing outright:
“The C grade is as much about losing Mathieu as it is about Reid’s talent. Last season, in Lovie Smith’s Cover-2/Tampa-2-heavy defense, Reid allowed 13 catches on 19 targets for 278 yards, 104 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 111.2.
Say all you want about “LOL Texans,” but Houston was really good in two-deep coverage. No team ran more Cover-2 reps, and the Texans gave up just three touchdowns and had a league-high 10 interceptions in Cover-2. Two-deep was a big part of Kansas City’s defensive improvement in the second half of the 2021 season, as well.”
There’s no denying that Reid had a down year in 2021. He posted a career-low grade at Pro Football Focus with a 50.8 overall grade, but the rest of his career would suggest this was a one-off. He’s a plus-athlete who is more than capable of bouncing back in Kansas City in 2022 and beyond, especially playing for a very solid defensive coaching staff.
Why would a Mathieu return bump this grade up to a B+ for Schofield and Farrar, though? They feel that Reid is at his best as a deep safety. Bringing Mathieu back into the fold would allow Juan Thornhill and Reid to take care of all the deep stuff and allow for Mathieu to play in the box. That might ultimately be the plan, even without a Mathieu return.
Mathieu still hasn’t signed with another team in free agency, so there’s a chance he’s back with the team. That chance might be slim given how the Chiefs have handled Mathieu being a free agent. Until he has signed with another team, there is at least a little bit of hope.
