When the Kansas City Chiefs signed safety Justin Reid during free agency, they brought aboard a do-it-all safety.
Last season, Reid played 540 snaps at free safety, 147 in the box, 65 in the slot, and seven out wide as a corner, according to PFF. Those numbers detail the versatility that the former third-round pick of the Houston Texans can bring to Kansas City’s defense moving forward. It’s also brought about comparisons of Reid to a beloved member of Chiefs Kingdom that’s now a free agent: Tyrann Mathieu.
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Mathieu, a back-to-back team MVP in Kansas City, was a Swiss-Army Knife for the Chiefs’ defense over the last three seasons. Last season, he had 438 snaps in the box, 280 as a free safety, 206 in the slot, and 23 out wide as a corner, per PFF.
Reid was signed by the Chiefs this offseason as a replacement for Mathieu. That is evident in Reid’s three-year, $31.5 million deal with the team, which was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Reid’s contract may not seem like a large amount of money compared to what the top players at his position are earning, but it’s much less than what Mathieu will potentially receive from another team in free agency.
Despite coming at a cheaper cost, the similarities on paper between Reid and Mathieu are clear. But Reid isn’t about to accept that he and Mathieu are the same player.
Reid Reacts to Mathieu Comparisons
During his introductory press conference in Kansas City, Reid made it known that the only player he can be compared to is himself.
“A copy is never worth as much as the original,” Reid said on March 17. “There will never, ever, ever be another Tyrann Mathieu come through Kansas City. But I can bring the best Justin Reid possible to Kansas City. I want to play to my strengths. I want to play to who I am.
“You can expect a guy that’s going to be not only physical but a guy that’s going to make plays on the ball, be that field general on the back end, and make sure everything is airtight. If there’s a guy in the wrong-colored jersey in my area … I’m going to make him pay for coming into my space.”
However, Reid’s comments don’t mean that Mathieu hasn’t had an impact on Reid. Mathieu played in Houston for one season when Reid was a rookie in 2018. It was then that Reid learned from Mathieu.
“I’ll never forget his thing was a mentality and attitude, the work ethic and just playing with savviness,” Reid said. “He called it ‘championship swagger.’ … His pregame speeches were second to none. He was a big leader in the room, he’s someone that everybody gravitated to. So when he did leave Houston, I kind of took over a little bit of that role by the precedent that he set.”
Twitter Users Talk About Reid, Mathieu
Twitters users spoke about Reid and Mathieu following Reid’s introductory press conference in Kansas City.
“Justin Reid has missed 7 games in the last 2 seasons, 8 games overall in his 4 year career. About 4 inches taller and about 20lbs heavier than Tyrann Mathieu not to mention 5 years younger, this is clearly the Chiefs getting younger and cheaper at safety. Let’s hope it pans out,” one Twitter user wrote.
“It seems appropriate the Chiefs are replacing Tyrann Mathieu with Justin Reid, both on and off the field. Reid was the NFLPA community MVP in Week 1 for raising money and goods for Hurricane Ida victims and was Texans’ Walter Payton Award nominee in his fourth season,” Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest wrote.
“I appreciate everything Tyrann Mathieu did here and we don’t win a Super Bowl without him, but it was time to move on at the end of the day. That said, Justin Reid is such an exciting player on a cheap contract and he’s much younger,” another user wrote.
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