The Houston Texans are serious in their pursuit of Ed Reed. After bringing in the safety for a team visit, they entered a battle with the Baltimore Ravens on a bidding war for the free agent safety. As the teams meet in Phoenix for the NFL annual meeting, the Texans have upped their offer for Reed. The team has reportedly offered Reed a three-year contract in hopes of winning him over.
Reed became serious about his desire to get a new contract when he hired an agent to represent him for the first time in his career. He has drawn interest from multiple teams since hitting the market when the free agency period began. The Texans brought in Reed for visit. They hosted a dinner for him with his former teammate Andre Johnson. The wide receiver voiced his support in bringing in Reed, even offering to restructure his contract so the Texans could offer him more money. However, Reed left without a deal in place, giving Baltimore a chance to offer him something better.
According to reports, Houston has now put up an offer worth around $4 million per season. Reed made $7.2 million last season with the Ravens and is searching for a contract around that same price range. Reed's agent is still gauging interest levels from other teams before allowing his client to take a big pay cut with the Texans.
Reed has spent 11 seasons with the Ravens and reportedly wants to remain with the team if they can offer a better contract. The Ravens want to bring him back after losing other key pieces to their defense. Both Houston and Baltimore have limited salary cap space after putting money towards other big contracts and might not be able to offer Reed the deal he is searching for.
Reed is reaching an older age for the NFL, but at 34, he has still proven to be highly effective in a defensive unit. The trend in free agency has been that veterans are being forced to take a pay cut or risk not finding a team. Reed might have to still on the $4 million offer from Houston. If either Houston or Baltimore are unable to reach an agreement with Reed, the New England Patriots have shown a slight interest in the safety but are waiting to see what other teams are determining as his value.