Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed -- who will miss the first six weeks of the season after being placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list by the team -- says he could have potentially joined the Ravens' active roster for Week 1.
"I probably could have went out there and kind of maneuvered my way around for a couple of weeks until I really got myself back together, but I didn't know if that was going to be fourth, fifth week or whatnot," Reed said in a radio interview with Siirus XM's Mad Dog Radio on Sunday night.
"It wasn't gonna do any justice to the team after they put in all that hard work this offseason and training camp for that one guy who we probably needed on the roster that was probably 110 percent and could have gave us a special teams play or maybe even a defensive play here or there."
Reed said he discussed the PUP list option with team officials, and appeared to be in line with their thinking.
"You know, I talked with the organization and they felt the same way, you know, that it was really up to me but they wanted to make sure we were all on the same page. And trying to get longevity out of a career versus playing the first couple of games, maybe even eight or ten games and something happens. God forbid something happens when I come back, but if something happened after eight games and we're still trying to win the Super Bowl come December and January, what am I to help then, you know?"
Reed, a six-time Pro Bowler, underwent offseason hip surgery and didn't practice during training camp or play in the preseason.
Reed missed four games last season because of hip problems after playing every game from 2006 to 2008.
"Man, regardless of those six weeks, once they're up, they're up, I don't think I can hold myself back that long" Reed said. "I don't think they're going to be able to hold me back that long."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
