They used the deep Justin Reid as a kicker

The defensive back filled in on an emergency basis for the injured Ka’imi Fairbairn in the final game of the preseason.

Whenever the offense approached the diagonals, Justin Reid was ready.

The Houston Texans deep man, who replaced kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn in Saturday’s 23-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, stayed on the bench, waiting for a chance to kick a field goal. Head coach David Culley said that if the Texans had gotten to the 24-yard line or closer toward the end of the game, the deep man would have had a chance to kick a field goal.

“I was ready the whole game,” Reid stated. “I don’t know if they saw me on the bench. I had my helmet buckled every time they got there to see if I was coming out.”

After the last practice at Texans training camp Thursday, Reid said it was his dream to kick an extra point in a game. After Fairbairn dealt with a minor muscle injury during warmups, Reid received a chance to show off his leg in Houston’s final preseason game.

The Texans did not attempt a field goal and looked for the 2-point conversion both times they scored touchdowns. Reid, however, did kick after each Houston touchdown.

“I had the time of my life,” Reid sentenced. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I can’t tell you how excited I was when the coaches said, ‘You’re in this game.’ And I thought, ‘Really, do I have a [kick]?’ They replied, ‘No, you’re in the whole game.’ So I was really excited to be there. It was a dream come true.”

On the opening kickoff, Reid kicked 64 yards to the Tampa Bay 1 and the ball was returned to the 16. He kicked twice more and after his third-quarter attempt, he was also in on the tackle.

Reid, who kicked and played deep in high school, said he was the emergency kicker at Stanford and has been an emergency kicker for the Texans. Reid indicated that he has “suggested” to all the special teams coaches that he has stepped up his efforts over the past two weeks.

“I’ll tell you what,” Reid noted. “I’ve made some plays as deep, but because of how excited I was to kick the ball, this will be one of my favorite moments.”