Ed Reed had just 16 tackles before being released by the Texans.
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With Tuesday’s release of Ed Reed by the Texans, the Jets have discussed the possibility of bringing in the nine-time Pro Bowl safety, head coach Rex Ryan said Wednesday. But that doesn’t mean a signing is imminent, let alone likely.
A team source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Reed “likely isn’t in the team’s plans at this juncture. Not saying no, but not likely to happen.”
The Jets theoretically could sign Reed to shore up their secondary, but Ryan wouldn’t divulge on Wednesday about any internal conversations he’s had with general manager John Idzik about bringing in the veteran safety.
“If we did, I’d keep that conversation private and all that type of stuff,” Ryan said. “Part of the due diligence if you’ve coached a player, I’m sure you’d want that input. Did we have [a conversation]? Safe to say, yes.”
Reed, who played under Ryan when he was the defensive coordinator with the Ravens, has said in the past how much he enjoyed playing for him.
Ryan was unaware if the discussion with Idzik went beyond an exploratory conversation and if the player will be signed.
“I’ll tell you this, you might want to check upstairs if they put in a waiver,” Ryan said. “This is the honest truth, my focus is on this football team … and that’s exactly where it is. If we’ve picked [him] up or not, I’ve not been informed of this.”
The Jets lost their top three safeties from last year’s team when they chose not to retain LaRon Landry, Yeremiah Bell and Eric Smith. Reed could give some veteran savvy to a unit that includes young players Antonio Allen, Josh Bush and Jaiquawn Jarrett.
“I can say absolutely yes, I’d like to have him on this team,” Ryan said.
But Ryan also qualified that he’d like to have former players Brandon Moore, Alan Faneca and Trevor Pryce on the team as well.
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
