Houston Texans: Where's Brooks Reed?

It’s the bye week and the Houston Texans are just a bit past the halfway point of the regular season.

Many fans out there are already handing out their assessments of how this team been doing so far –some may be good, bad or somewhere in the middle.

In my opinion, the team is somewhere in the middle.

Granted, the team has not performed horribly — they’ve been in just about every game they’ve undertaken with the exception of their contest against the New York Giants.

But there have been lots of miscues that have occurred where it would prevent the team from winning the football game.

There are many players we have that make a difference and one of them can be Brooks Reed.

Since Week 1, Reed has been virtually non-existent — with a flash in the pan here and there — through the nine games the team has played.

Week 1 against the Washington Redskins still remains his best game of the season so far.

He and the rest of the defensive line totally abused Robert Griffin III — to the point of him likely seeming to dread heading back out to the field when it was time for their offense to do so.

Reed had five tackles, one assist and one sack in that game.

Sep 7, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Mike Mohamed (54) and outside linebacker Brooks Reed (58) tackle Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris (46) during the first quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

I thought that he was going to be the highlight to our defensive line but was regressed a bit during the duration of the season.

Granted, throughout his career he has suffered from groin injuries so it’s interesting to know if that’s the reason of why he has under performed so far.

He’s a regular listing on the team’s injury report week-after-week.

Groin injuries can be very painful — any person participating in contact sports can attest to that.

I can attest to that.

But if he’s hurt, it’s best that he take some time off and let that injury heal so that he’ll be 100 percent the next time he takes the field.

The only problem is that Jadeveon Clowney‘s status continues to be up in the air so Reed may have no choice to play for the sake of saving his own hide.

His personal outlook on this season was one of high expectations — he told the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain that he had been working out hard in the off season with J.J. Watt in Wisconsin.

You’d think some of Watt’s work ethic would’ve rubbed off on him; but, so far, it hasn’t.

Reed, 27, was part of the Texans’ 2011 draft class and is still working under his rookie-scale contract.

It’s currently a four-year, 4.7 million dollar deal with him earning about a $1 million this season.

He becomes a free agent in 2015.

If Reed is trying to convince Bob McNair that he’s worthy of an extension or even being retained as a Texan, the case he has made has been lukewarm thus far.

Here’s what he told McClain before the start of the season:

"“Yeah, I better get 20 sacks,” Reed said with a laugh to McClain. “It’s my last year, and I expect – as do my coaches – to improve on the years I’ve had here. I put a lot into the offseason. I trained very hard. Hopefully, it’ll work out for the best.”"

Since Week 1, Reed has had no more than two tackles in a game, throwing in a couple of assists with that.

He did complete his first interception of his career in Week 2 against the Oakland Raiders off a ball that floated out of Derek Carr‘s hands after a bone-crunching tackle by Watt.

He also had an impressive fumble recovery to boot in that game as well.

September 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Texans outside linebacker Brooks Reed (58, left) celebrates with defensive back Darryl Morris (26) after Reed recovered the football on an Oakland Raiders fumble during the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Texans defeated the Raiders 30-14. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Those moments were memorable because it still was an indication of what was yet to come for Reed.

But since then, he has been virtually a no-show and it’s time for him to prove that he has some value as a Texan.

He was a part of the original guard of the Bulls on Parade and it would be tough to see him go.

To be honest, I don’t see Reed here next season unless he has a miraculous second half after this week.

Houston Texans: Where’s Brooks Reed?

By Brian K. Patterson | Nov 8, 2014