Former Baltimore Ravens star safety Ed Reed officially announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday afternoon, ending one of the best careers of any defensive back in league history. He will be inducted into the Ravens Ring of Honor on Nov. 22, and should also soon have a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame among the legends of the game.
Ed Reed officially retires from NFL, ends legendary career
The former Ravens safety ranks sixth all time in interceptions and won a Super Bowl with Baltimore in 2012.
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Reed, who ranks sixth all time in interceptions (64), made nine Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro five times. He was the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year and won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2012. The 12-year veteran holds the NFL record for the most career interception yards (1,590) and also has the record for the longest interception return in NFL history (107 yards against Eagles on Nov. 23, 2008). He was among best ballhawks of his generation, leading the league in interceptions three different times (2004, 2008, 2010). The only other player in NFL history to do that was the Cowboys' Everson Walls in the 1980s.
One of the most dynamic defensive playmakers, Reed is the lone NFL player to score touchdowns off a blocked punt, punt return, interception and fumble recovery. He’s best known for his knack at baiting quarterbacks into thinking he was out of position before breaking on the ball and intercepting the pass at the last possible moment.
The St. Louis native spent his first 11 seasons in the NFL (2002-12) with the Ravens. He briefly played for the New York Jets and Houston Texans in 2013, but was out of football last season. The first-round draft pick out of Miami finished his career with 64 interceptions, 643 tackles and 11 forced fumbles in 174 games.
Reed's retirement comes on the heels of another game-changing safety calling it quits in the NFL. Last month, former Pittsburgh Steelers great Troy Polamalu announced his retirement after a dozen seasons in the league. With both legendary safeties hanging up their cleats, it's worth noting how similar their careers played out.
Polamalu, a first-round pick in 2003, entered the league one year after Reed. He was an eight-time Pro Bowler and named a first-team All-Pro four times in his 12 seasons. Although he never led the league in picks, he did rank second to Reed in 2008 and 2010. Like Reed, Polamalu won a Defensive Player of the Year award (2010) and helped the Steelers win two Super Bowl rings. Both players were listed on the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 2000s.
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