As the NFL Annual Meetings continue in Phoenix, the Texans remain in play for free agent safety Ed Reed.
Reed, a nine-time Pro Bowler and former Defensive Player of the Year with the Baltimore Ravens, had a two-day visit with the Texans in Houston last week.
“We felt like that went good,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Tuesday in Phoenix to Marc Vandermeer of Texans Radio. “It’s going to take some time. You’re talking about a Hall of Fame football player, in my opinion, who’s going to take his time to do the right thing and do what he wants to do. But I think we’ve very much involved.”
The Ravens have expressed a desire to keep Reed, 34, who also reportedly is drawing interest from the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Texans general manager Rick Smith and Reed’s agent David Dunn met Tuesday afternoon to discuss Reed. McClain said the two sides have spoken daily in Phoenix but that neither has budged in negotiations.
“We understand that Ed likes the Texans and would like to be with us, and we like him and we would like to see him wearing the Texans uniform, and our people are talking,” Texans chairman and CEO Bob McNair said to Vandermeer on Tuesday. “And so hopefully, they’ll be able to work something out. If they don’t, though, he’s not the only safety out there. We’ll find somebody else, and we’ll still have a solid secondary. So I feel good about where we are, but I like Ed Reed, and I think he’s a terrific player.”
The Texans are in need of a starting free safety after Glover Quin signed with the Detroit Lions last week as an unrestricted free agent. Quin started all 32 games from 2011-12.
“We’ve got a need there with losing Glover, but at the same time, we’ll go about it the right way,” Kubiak said. “No panic from any standpoint. (We’ll) just make sure that we’re trying to make our team better as we move toward the draft.”
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