Justin Quintin Reid (born February 15, 1997) is an American professional football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.
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Early life
Reid attended Dutchtown High School in Geismar, Louisiana. He committed to Stanford University to play college football.
College career
Reid played at Stanford from 2015 to 2017. After his junior season in 2017, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2018 NFL draft. During his career, he had 170 tackles, six interceptions and one sack.
Professional career
Pre-draft
On January 9, 2018, Reid announced his decision on Twitter to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL draft. Reid attended the NFL Scouting Combine and completed all of the combine and positional drills. He was a top performer at his position in the majority of drills and finished second among safeties in the 40-yard dash, third in the short shuttle and three-cone drill, fifth in the broad jump, eighth in the vertical jump, and 11th in the bench press.
On March 22, 2018, Reid participated at Stanford's pro day, but chose to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. He attended pre-draft visits and private workouts with multiple teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, and Philadelphia Eagles. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Reid was projected to be a first or second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the top free safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and was ranked as the third best safety in the draft by Scouts Inc. and Sports Illustrated.
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans selected Reid in the third round (68th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. Reid was the fifth safety drafted in 2018. Reid unexpectedly fell from the first or second round and was ranked among the top steals of the 2018 NFL Draft.
On June 10, 2018, the Houston Texans signed Reid to a four–year, $4.06 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $1.03 million. Throughout training camp, Reid competed for the role of starting free safety against Kareem Jackson. Head coach Bill O'Brien named Reid as a backup safety to start the regular season, behind starters Kareem Jackson and Tyrann Mathieu.
On September 9, 2018, Reid made his professional regular season debut in the Texans' season-opener at the New England Patriots and recorded one solo tackle and a pass deflection in a 27–20 loss. The following week, Reid earned his first career start, starting at free safety, and recorded five combined tackles (four solo) during a 17–20 loss at the Tennessee Titans.
On October 7, 2018, he made six combined tackles (five solo) and made his first career interception off of pass attempt by Dak Prescott intended for Deionte Thompson in a 19–16 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to Week 6, Reid became the starting free safety for the remainder of the season after Kareem Jackson was moved back to cornerback following an injury to cornerback Aaron Colvin. In Week 8, he had nine combined tackles (five solo), a season-high two pass deflections, and had his second pick of the season on Brock Osweiler in the Texans' 42–23 loss to the Miami Dolphins. The following week, Reid collected a season-high ten combined tackles (nine solo) and recovered a fumble during a 19–17 victory at the Denver Broncos. On November 18, 2018, he recorded four combined tackles (three solo), two pass deflections, and scored his first career touchdown after intercepting a pass by Alex Smith while covering tight end Jordan Reed in the endzone and returned it 101 yards in the Texans' 23–21 win at the Washington Redskins. He finished his rookie season in 2018 with a total of 88 combined tackles (70 solo), ten pass deflections, three interceptions, and one touchdown in 16 games and 12 starts. Pro Football Focus had Reid finish his rookie season with an overall grade of 75.2.
He successfully underwent surgery on his wrist during the offseason to repair what was described as "mild wear and tear". Entering training camp, Reid was projected to be a starter at safety after they lost both Tyrann Mathieu and Kareem Jackson in free agency. In July, Reid had was involved in a car crash when a suspected drunk driver crashed into his vehicle. Fortunately, he did not suffer any serious injuries and returned to practice a week later. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel decided to pair Reid and Tashaun Gipson as the starting safeties to begin the regular season.
Kansas City Chiefs
On May 14, 2022, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Reid to a three–year, $31.50 million contract that includes $20.48 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $10.50 million.
The Chiefs signed Reid following the departures of Tyrann Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen. He was projected to earn the role as the starting free safety, replacing Tyrann Mathieu. Head coach Andy Reid selected Reid and Juan Thornhill as the starting safeties to begin the season.
On September 11, 2022, Reid started in the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opener at the Arizona Cardinals and had four combined tackles (two solo) while also filling in as the kicker following an injury to kicker Harrison Butker. He went 1 of 2 on extra points and had a touchback before Butker returned to the game, but Reid would continue to fill in for kickoffs, kicking three more of them into the end zone for touchbacks as the Chiefs won 44–21. In Week 16, he racked up a season-high eight combined tackles (five solo) during a 24–10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. In his first season as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, Reid started all 17 regular season games and finished the 2022 NFL season with a total of 83 combined tackles (59 solo), seven pass deflections, and one sack. Pro Football Focus had Reid finish the season with an overall grade of 73.2.
The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 2022 NFL season atop the AFC West with a 14–3 record and earned a first round bye in the playoffs. On January 29, 2023, Reid started in the AFC Championship Game and collected seven solo tackles and a pass deflection as the Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20. On February 12, 2023, Reid started in Super Bowl LVIII at free safety alongside strong safety Mike Edwards and recorded seven combined tackles (five solo) in the Chiefs' 38–35 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. He earned his first Super Bowl ring as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022.
Reid returned as the starting free safety under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in 2023, but was paired with strong safety Bryan Cook following the departure of Juan Thornhill. On October 12, 2023, he recorded five combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, one sack, and intercepted a pass by Russell Wilson to tight end Greg Dulcich during a 19–8 victory against the Denver Broncos. In Week 13, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles (nine solo) during a 19–27 loss at the Green Bay Packers. He finished the season with a total of 95 combined tackles (74 solo), seven pass deflections, three sacks, and one interception in 16 games and 16 starts. He received an overall grade of 57.7 from Pro Football Focus in 2023.
New Orleans Saints
On March 12, 2025, Reid signed with the New Orleans Saints on a three–year, $31.50 million contract that includes $22.25 million guaranteed upon signing. In Week 12 against the Atlanta Falcons, Reid intercepted a Kirk Cousins pass that ricocheted off of Kyle Pitts' hands, returning the ball 49 yards for a touchdown. The pick-six was the first Saints interception returned for a touchdown since Tyrann Mathieu did so on October 8, 2023.
NFL career statistics
Personal life
Reid's older brother, Eric, also played safety in the NFL. Reid is a two-time champion of the Chess.com BlitzChamps tournaments, defeating Kyler Murray in the grand final match of each event. Reid received chess coaching from James Canty.