Britt Reid gets off lightly once again
Britt Reid, the son of Chiefs coach Andy Reid, was sentenced on Tuesday after being found guilty of one count of felony driving while intoxicated with serious bodily injury. And everyone from local prosecutors to the NFL is doing its best to sweep the episode under the rug.
Reid, 37, put a 5-year-old girl in a coma in February 2021 when he slammed his pickup truck, which had reached 84 miles per hour, into two cars parked on an offramp on I-435.
The girl, Ariel Young, was in a coma for 11 days, in the hospital for two months, and still deals works daily with a speech pathologist and physical therapist. The Chiefs reached a private settlement with her family.
Reid was previously arrested twice in his 20s and spent five months in jail for road rage and drug incidents. This time, he faced a maximum of seven years in jail but had the gall to ask for probation. Prosecutors for some reason only sought four years, and the judge gave him three. No one will explain why.
“Given the damage Reid did to the family and his prior criminal record, this defendant did not deserve a deal,” the Youngs’ attorney, Tom Porto, told the New York Times. “The prosecutor should have gone to trial or had him plead to the maximum seven years.”
And the NFL appears to want to bury this story instead of punishing Andy Reid or the Chiefs. Britt Reid admitted in his statement to police that he consumed Adderall and multiple alcoholic drinks at the team’s facility before the crash. It should be a clear-cut violation of the personal conduct policy. But an NFL spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment after Reid’s sentencing.
It’s a shameful ending to a heartwrenching episode. Reid gets off lightly again because his father is famous.
Heinicke coming full circle
Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke will get a start against Minnesota on Sunday, about six years after he could’ve been starting for the Vikings.
Heinicke was an undrafted rookie for the Vikings in 2015, and had a chance to win the backup job in 2016. But that chance never came because Heinicke severed a tendon in his foot before training camp while trying to kick out a window. Heinicke could have gotten his big chance in 2016 when Teddy Bridgewater suffered a knee injury in camp, but Heinicke was done for the season, and the Vikings traded for Sam Bradford instead.
“That was one of the dumbest mistakes I’ve ever made,” Heinicke said of kicking the window. “I feel like maybe if that didn’t happen and then Teddy blows out his knee, I might’ve got a chance that year and maybe not have traded for Sam Bradford. Who knows?”
The Vikings released Heinicke after 2016, and he bounced between the Patriots, Texans, Panthers, and the XFL before finally sticking with the Commanders late in 2020. Heinicke went 7-8 as a starter last year and is 2-0 this year.
Extra points
The Eagles are 8-0 after beating the Texans on Thursday night, but is a regression coming soon? They have an NFL-high 18 takeaways and an NFLlow three giveaways for a remarkable plus-15 turnover margin. For context, Baltimore, Dallas, and Minnesota are tied for second at plus-6. The Eagles will be hard pressed to maintain this pace, especially on offense. They have fumbled seven times but didn’t lose any until Jalen Hurts did so on Thursday
. . . Tyreek Hill isn’t just lapping the field in receiving yards, his 961 are 197 more than anyone else in the league. But Hill also leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 986, a remarkable feat considering that the next eight players in the rankings are running backs. Hill is averaging 120.1 receiving yards per game, second only to Calvin Johnson (122.8 in 2012) since the 1970 merger (exclud- ing strike sea- sons)
. . . Browns GM Andrew Berry confirmed that Deshaun Watson will take over as starting quarterback Week 13 at Houston after his suspension ends. If Watson starts all six remaining games, he’ll make $7,561,250 per start for a total of $45,367,500, since the Browns crafted his contract that would minimize the financial damage of a suspension. Not bad work if you can get it
. . . Eagles defensive end Robert Quinn and Bills safety Dean Marlowe, both acquired at the trade deadline, could each play in 18 games since they missed their teams’ bye weeks. Quinn played just seven snaps for the Eagles on Thursday night
... Josh McDaniels had the Raiders staying in Sarasota, Fla., and practicing at nearby IMG Academy this past week between games at New Orleans and Jacksonville. It probably wasn’t much of a vacation after last week’s 24-0 loss
. . . The Dolphins must really believe in Bradley Chubb, because they sure did give up a lot — a first-round pick, then a five-year, $119 million contract with $63 million guaranteed — for a guy who has missed 24 games over the last three seasons
. . . Tom Brady needs 164 passing yards on Sunday against the Rams to give him 100,000 for his career, including postseason
. . . A rarity on Sunday — a 1 p.m. kickoff for Patriots-Colts. Seventeen of the last 21 matchups have come in the late afternoon or night, including the last seven. The last 1 p.m. kickoffs — 2011 (with Dan Orlovsky at quarterback for the Colts), 2003, and both in 2001
. . . Saints receiver Michael Thomas signed a five-year, $97 million contract before the 2019 season, and he set an NFL record that year with 149 catches for 1,725 yards. But his career has been marred by injuries since, missing nine games in 2020 with an ankle injury, the 2021 season with an ankle injury, and now he will miss 14 games this year as he awaits toe surgery. The Saints have paid him $39 million for 10 games for 2020-22
. . . RIP Ray Guy, the only punter inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2014), thanks in part to a campaign from Bill Belichick. A sixtime All-Pro who redefined the position, Guy was also an accomplished pitcher, throwing one of six no-hitters in University of Southern Mississippi history.