HOUSTON — As the offense neared the end zone, Justin Reid was ready.
The Houston Texans safety, who filled in for kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn in Saturday’s 23-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, stood on the sideline, waiting for the chance to kick a field goal. Head coach David Culley said that had the Texans gotten to the 24-yard line or closer late in the game, the safety would have had a chance to attempt the field goal.
“I was ready the whole game,” Reid said. “I don’t know if you [caught] me on the sideline. I had my helmet strapped every time we were down there to see if I would get to go out there.”
After the Texans’ final training camp practice on Thursday, Reid said it was a dream of his to kick an extra point in a game. After Fairbairn dealt with a minor muscle pull during warm-ups, Reid got a chance to show off his leg in Houston’s preseason finale.
The Texans didn’t end up attempting a field goal and went for a 2-point conversion both times they scored a touchdown. Reid, however, did kick after every Houston score.
“I had the time of my life,” Reid said. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment for so long. I can’t tell you how excited I was when the coaches said, ‘You’re up this game.’ And I was like, ‘Really, I get one?’ They said, ‘No, you’re up the whole game.’ So I was so excited to be out there. It was a dream come true.”
On the opening kickoff, Reid kicked 64 yards to the Tampa Bay 1 and the ball was returned to the 16. He kicked twice more, and after his attempt in the third quarter, he was in on the tackle, as well.
Reid, who kicked and played safety in high school, said he was the emergency kicker at Stanford and has been the emergency kicker for the Texans. Reid said he has “put a bug” in the ear of every special teams coach he’s had and had ramped up his efforts in the past two weeks.
“I’ll tell you what, man,” Reid said. “I’ve made some plays at safety, but as much as I’ve been excited to actually kick the ball, this is going to go down as one of my favorite moments.”
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