The greatest free safety of his time: Former Hurricane Ed Reed selected to Hall of Fame
During the AFC Championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots in 2011, television cameras zoomed in on the play-call wrist band Tom Brady was wearing on his left hand. And written on it in magic marker, presumably by the quarterback himself, were these words:
“Find 20 on every play.”
No. 20 for the Baltimore Ravens was Ed Reed. And the place he can be found for decades to come is the Pro Football Hall of Fame where his bust will become a permanent resident this fall.
Reed, the former University of Miami standout who was part of the 2001 national title team, was among five modern era enshrinees elected into the Hall of Fame Saturday afternoon.
He along with tight end Tony Gonzalez and cornerback Champ Bailey were selected as first-ballot Hall of Famers.
Cornerback Ty Law and center Kevin Mawae also were selected to join the 2019 Hall of Fame class as modern era inductees.
Safety Johnny Robinson, who played from 1960-1971, was selected as a seniors inductee while Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and former Dallas Cowboys personnel man and current NFL.com contributor Gil Brandt were selected as contributors.
“I was a two-star recruit ... now a Hall of Famer,” Reed tweeted. “Beyond thankful.
“It’s not something I set out to do when I played this game,” Reed said later. “I was just a kid playing a game. But now that this is here, it’s awesome.”
Although Reed gets a trip to Canton, Ohio, where the Hall is headquartered, the news was not so favorable for other finalists with South Florida ties.
Receiver Isaac Bruce, who played at Fort Lauderdale Dillard High before becoming a star with the Rams and later San Francisco 49ers, was eliminated in the cut from 15 modern era finalists to 10.
Former University of Miami running back Edgerrin James, who played on the same Hurricanes team in 1998 with Reed, survived the cut to 10 finalists but was among the five eliminated in the final cut to five.
That doesn’t diminish what James or Bruce accomplished during their NFL careers. They were both great and I believe both will someday be in the Hall of Fame.
But the Reed selection was simply a no-brainer.
Indeed, the presentation speech, which is unofficially limited to five minutes during which time the presenter tries to convince the other 47 selectors to vote for his or her finalist, took only about two minutes.
And there was zero debate about Reed afterward.
There certainly was zero debate about how great Reed was when he was playing.
“He’s the best weak safety I’ve seen since I’ve been in the National Football League in my career,” New England Patriots coach Belichick once said of Reed. “He’s outstanding at pretty much everything.
“The list goes on and on with him. It’s just a question of pretty much anything he’s out there for, he’s good at.”
During a behind-the-scenes look at the Patriots years ago, cameras captured Belichick and Tom Brady going over the Baltimore defense when the subject of Reed came up.
“Every time you break the huddle, that’s who you’re looking at,” Brady told his coach.
It was hard not to notice Reed because he didn’t just play the position better than anyone else, he came up with look-at-me plays that simply stunned opponents.
In 2004, Reed broke the NFL record when he returned an interception 106 yards.
He broke that record, his own record, in 2008 when he returned an interception 107 yards.
Reed finished his amazing 12-year career with 64 interceptions, which is seventh all-time. His nine postseason interceptions is tied for the NFL record and that’s one more than the top six all-time interception leaders combined.
He led the league in interceptions three times (which tied an NFL record) and was in the top 10 seven times. His 1,590 interception return yards is a record. His nine postseason interception is tied for the NFL record.
Reed was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and was an All-Pro five times. And where did the motivation for that come from?
“I was playing for my parents, who provided for five kids in a one-bedroom apartment,” Reed said. “That was on my back. Hall of Fame stuff, that’s for them. That’s about my people who helped me get to where I’m at.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2019 at 6:16 PM.
