(SportsRadio 610) - The Texans placed safety Justin Reid on the COVID-19 reserve Monday ahead of their season finale against the Tennessee Titans.
Reid, who had two tackles for loss and six combined tackles Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, is not the only safety the Texans are without. They placed backup Jonathan Owens on the injured reserve with a dislocated wrist.
Under the league's new protocols adopted last week, Reid only has to miss five games and could return in time for Sunday's game against the Titans if he's healthy enough to play.
If not, that leaves Eric Murray and Terrence Brooks as the Texans' safeties going into Sunday. Both players recently spent time on the COVID-19 list. Murray spoke Monday about his endurance being an issue Sunday against the 49ers.
Reid is a free agent after this season and it is possible he's played his last game with the Texans. He was a third-round draft pick by Houston in 2018 and has recorded seven interceptions over 57 career games, including one in each of the first two weeks of this season.
Yet Reid's had a complex fourth season.
While he's a known leader and one of the faces of the team, he also found himself at odds with the coaching staff and was benched Week 12 at home against the New York Jets.
Two weeks later, Reid suffered a concussion in a game against the Seattle Seahawks and was the sidelined the following game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Off the field, Reid is also known for his charitable work and community engagement. He was nominated as the team's Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate, and recognized for sportsmanship by the Houston Sports Awards.
“I think that this year has just been about overcoming obstacles and growth and overcoming adversity," Reid told reporters last Friday. "We had a good first game, and then we had, let’s just call it what it is, an abysmal stretch there where we lost seven, eight games in a row. But in that time, a lot of guys who never got the chance to play on the field got a lot of invaluable experience, Davis Mills included. I think that that’s just instilling building blocks. We’re trying to create a foundation for the future of this team going forward."