Former Kansas City Chiefs star safety Justin Reid revealed this week just how close he was to joining the Philadelphia Eagles over the New Orleans Saints in NFL free agency. 
Reid appeared on FanDuel TV's “Up and Adams Show” where he admitted that the only reason that he did not sign with Philly was because of their cap space situation.
“It was just because me and the defensive backs coach [Christian Parker] there have a really good relationship,” Reid said. “The defensive system was the same defensive system I ran at Stanford – that whole Vic Fangio system – I know it pretty well.
The conversations were pretty intense. The only drawback was they were just so limited in cap space that we couldn’t make a deal that made sense. But the situation, the conversation was happening.”
Reid, 28, ultimately signed a three-year, $31.5 million deal, including $22.25 million fully guaranteed with his hometown team, the New Orleans Saints.
The former third-round pick out of Stanford in the 2018 draft had been a major key to Kansas City's secondary over the last three years and is coming off a 2024 season where he racked up 87 tackles and two interceptions through 16 regular-season games.
While the Eagles could have certainly used Reid and his veteran presence after trading C.J. Gardner-Johnson away to the Houston Texans, there is no way they would have matched what New Orleans was going to offer.
The Eagles' offseason moves are far from over, so the hope now is that Howie Roseman and the gang find a safety with high upside at a discount rate just as they have been doing with all of their free agency signings thus far.
