Ed Reed, a longtime veteran safety for the Baltimore Ravens has been one of the best players in the NFL since his rookie season. Learning under fellow Ravens defensive captain Ray Lewis, who retired as a Super Bowl Champion, Reed quickly became one of the most feared and respected defensive players in NFL history and was even called the "best" free safety to ever play in the NFL.
Reed was drafted by the Ravens during the 2003 NFL Draft and it wasn't long before he became a force to be reckoned with for opposing quarterbacks. It wasn't until the 2004 season that Ed Reed and the Baltimore Ravens faced the New England Patriots for the first time against Tom Brady and the two future hall of famers have had a great friendship and mutual respect for one another. The Baltimore Ravens have squared off against the New England Patriots seven times since the 2009 season and have also faced each other three times in the postseason with the Ravens owning a 2-1 record (at Gillette Stadium).
Reed has been fathomed by Tom Brady and coach Belichick for several seasons, and the idea of picking up Ed Reed seems far fetched but its not out of the question to entertain that possibility.
Ed Reed's career is not over yet. He won a championship with the Ravens just last year and was also released by the Ravens during the 2013 free agency period and immediately picked up by the Houston Texans. Reed spent 10 weeks in Houston where he publicly criticized and attacked the front office of the Texans and some players and was released prompting a league wide claim in which teams with the worst record could clear waiver wires and was picked up by the New York Jets. Reed considered New England. He even inquired about New England but was not offered a deal and publicly said he didn't like the system in New England instead choosing to reunite with his old defensive coordinator Rex Ryan in New York. Reed did not play much late last season and was essentially a non-factor during his brief stint with the New York Jets.
It is now 2014 and 32 teams have not considered or tried to sign Ed Reed to a deal. The star safety is one of the greatest to ever play the game and although he is getting closer to father time, does not mean he still cant play football. Signing Ed Reed should be a win-win situation for the New England Patriots. The depth at safety for the Pats is very slim and the skill players outside of Devin McCourty and Brandon Browner is even worse. Sure the team resigned former Patriots Patrick Chung for a second stint with his old team but he may stay strictly with special teams and not become a starter and regardless the team needs another veteran safety that can control the game.
If Ed Reed joined the Patriots, they would be almost guaranteed to win the next three super bowl championships. Look at Peyton Manning, he is 38 years old and recorded his fifth MVP award and broke several NFL passing records including most touchdowns in a season, most yards in a season and most first downs in a season. Belichick has always fathomed Reed from afar and loved the friendship/mutual respect for each other on and off the field and having one of the best veteran safeties on a team with a lack of depth and experience surely wouldn't hurt anyone.
It is pointless to bring up statistics and examples of what the Patriots get in Reed because we already know the type of player that he is. He is a fearless and amazing player and leader and having him would help the defense become unstoppable. The biggest competition to the Patriots in the AFC is the Denver Broncos, and please name one time Peyton Manning has ever thrown a deep pass against the Ravens in Reeds direction? Would Manning challenge Ed Reed? Would Flacco? Yes, but who else could stand in the Patriots way other than those two teams that would challenge Ed Reed and win? Nobody. Reed in New England would bring more championships to Foxboro and that is what the Patriots have been trying to do since the 2005 season.
Reed will likely play the role of Rodney Harrison, a veteran safety who is a great player who was overlooked and told that he is washed up and too old to play the position. There wasn't many quarterbacks that challenged Rodney Harrison with the Patriots and won. Why not give it a shot? The worst that can happen is he turns out to be what you expected him to be.