For the last three seasons, star safety Justin Reid has been a huge piece of the success of the Kansas City Chiefs on the defensive side of the ball. But in a surprising move, the Chiefs opted not to bring back Reid. But according to Reid, that isn’t because of a lack of interest on either side.
Reid, who won two Super Bowls in Kansas City, appeared on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams on Tuesday to discuss his new contract with the New Orleans Saints.
Adams made it a point to ask Reid why the Chiefs weren’t on his top three list in free agency, a list that consisted of the Saints, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Tennessee Titans.
“There were a lot of fans wonder why the Chiefs didn’t make that final three,” said Adams. “Those teams that we’re talking about, Philly, the Saints, the Titans.”
Reid responded by saying that a return to the Chiefs was a consideration for him throughout the whole process. But ultimately, it simply didn’t work out between the two sides due to the amount of cap space the Chiefs had by the time that Reid came to a decision.
“They were in the conversation too,” said Reid. “I was also texting Coach Spags the whole time along in the process to see if something could be worked out. But the only constant thing in this business is change. That’s the only thing that is ever the same year to year is that things change. I don’t think it was from a lack of want to from either side. But rather just a product of the situation. What salary cap space was available and what was the emphasis of the offseason. I was trying to wait to buy time, to see if we could get something worked out. You know, cards unfolded and things didn’t work out. Then, you need to make the next best decision for yourself. And that’s why I made the decision to go with the Saints.”
“I was trying to wait to buy time, to see if we could get something done…”
2-time Super Bowl champion Justin Reid on his talks with the Chiefs to stay in KC
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— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) March 17, 2025
While it may not be great if you are the Saints and you hear that you were seemingly Reid’s second option, the Saints will regardless get an incredibly productive player that should help out their defense in a major way.
As for the Chiefs, they will now need to focus on replacing someone in Reid who was a staple on the back end of their secondary, which is a task that is certainly easier said than done.