Texans Owner Bob McNair: Ed Reed Was a "Big Disappointment"

Ed Reed signed with the Houston Texans during the 2013 offseason. Though he wasn’t expected to perform as he did in the height of his Ravens prime, they were hoping for more than a player they’d wind up cutting in mid-November. Team owner Bob McNair brought up Reed’s tenure with the team, and juxtaposed that with what he thinks they’ve gotten in newly acquired Vince Wilfork.

“I think the difference is when you have someone at a position where they have to be able to run, then age is more of a consideration,” McNair said, via ESPN’s Tania Ganguli. “We thought Ed was in good shape and was going to be able to come down and play and he was a big disappointment … Reed was an astounding talent at his peak, but he wasn’t physically able to be the same player with the Texans that he was with the Ravens in his heyday. And he didn’t handle the transition well publicly or behind closed doors in the locker room. Those factors dwarfed his potential mentoring ability.”

McNair said that Wilfork will hold up better because he’s expected to be strong and not fast. I’m not sure whether that logic has any merit, but with regards to Reed you rarely hear an owner speak that candidly about a free agency bust.