Texans veteran starting safety Justin Reid will return to play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts after being a healthy scratch last Sunday against the New York Jets for disciplinary reasons, coach David Culley announced Wednesday morning.
Texans coach David Culley, whom Reid argued with last week along with wide receiver Chris Conley during a team meeting that prompted the team to punish him, per league sources, met with the former third-round draft pick from Stanford on Monday and that meeting went well enough that Reid is now back in the lineup.
"He'll play on Sunday, we're moving forward," Culley said Wednesday during a Zoom press conference from NRG Stadium. "Back to business as usual. It went really well in the meeting. We're ready to go, He served his time and we're moving on."
Reid and Culley had a heated exchange during a team meeting Thursday after the coach pointed out and corrected defensive errors days after a 22-13 road victory over the Tennessee Titans a week ago during which the defense intercepted Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill four times, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly. One day after strongly taking issue with the coach's criticism of the defense and arguing during the meeting with Conley, Reid was informed Friday by Culley that he would be inactive for the Jets game, according to sources.
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Culley was asked Monday if the Reid situation is a distraction to the team, which dropped to 2-9 overall after a 21-14 loss to the Jets.
"It's not a distraction anymore, we took care of it," Culley said. "Those things happen. You take care of them and you move on. That's what we're doing in this situation."
This decision from Culley maintained consistency with how he handles individual player situations.
That includes starting linebacker Zach Cunningham being benched for disciplinary reasons for the first quarter of a game against the Cleveland Browns due to lateness issues and previously choosing to not attend a preseason game and starting cornerback Desmond King being benched for an entire game against the Los Angeles Rams due to unexcused absences from team activities, according to league sources.
Culley said he’s not concerned that the team has disciplined three different players this season, adding that a player’s status isn’t a factor in making these decisions.
“We have rules, and when the rules are broken, we make decisions on those,” Culley said Sunday. “It doesn’t matter who it is.”
The Texans started Eric Murray again at one safety spot. Terrence Brooks started at the other safety spot before injuring his hamstring.
Reid is in the final year of his rookie contract and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2022 after his four-year, $4.063 million rookie contract expires. Reid is being paid a $2.433 million base salary this year.
Reid was already expected to leave during free agency, even before this happened.
Reid had started every game for the 2-9 Texans until this game. He has two interceptions and one forced fumble and 42 tackles.
The younger brother of former Pro Bowl safety Eric Reid, Reid has seven career interceptions.
“It’s always tough, but coach said from Day One we’re gonna hold everyone accountable for their actions,” Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. “(Culley) made a decision. As a team, we support our coaches and our leadership decisions and we continue to keep moving forward.”
Texans defensive end Jon Greenard echoed that sentiment, saying the matter isbetween Reid and Culley.
“I mean, shoot, coach tells us whatever is going on,” Greenard said. “He’s held everybody accountable from Day One. Whatever decision he goes with, we’re going to stick with. I don’t have too much to say about that one.”