Jets coach Rex Ryan admitted on Wednesday that he was interested in adding safety Ed Reed to the team when he heard Reed was released by the Texans, but said Thursday that it was just a “rumor” that he pulled a hamstring running to General Manager John Idzik’s office to talk about bringing Reed on board.
When Ryan did get to Idzik, he says he learned the G.M. was already considering a move for the veteran safety. Ryan insists that he didn’t have to convince Idzik to make the move for a player that Ryan coached in Baltimore and insists isn’t in New York for anything other than football reasons.
“This had nothing to do with sentiment. We believe it will be a great signing for us and he’s going to help this football team,” Ryan said, via Dennis Waszak of the Associated Press.
Ryan said he thought it was a “false statement” to say that Reed can’t play anymore and said that sometimes you find “better fits in other places” when asked why things didn’t go well in Houston. That won’t push Reed into an immediate starting role, but Ryan said that Reed will play and indicated that he’d start playing against the Bills this weekend.
While those who watched him in Houston may disagree with Ryan’s upbeat assessment, there’s not much risk to the Jets by bringing Reed aboard at this point. Dawan Landry and Antonio Allen are still around, so the team’s downside is the status quo if things don’t work out as Ryan hopes.