Once he's ready to play, the Texans plan to take it slow with safety Ed Reed. Reed, a nine-time Pro Bowler and former defensive player of the year, won't start immediately when he's healthy, Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Thursday. Instead, he will begin as a situational player and be eased into certain packages. "He's right there going into his first preseason game this week, so to speak, in a lot of ways," Kubiak said. "I think the question right now is, when is he ready for those first 25-30 plays? That's what we're trying to make a decision on, but he's making good progress." Reed, who received a walker as a gag gift for this 35th birthday Wednesday, is recovering from arthroscopic hip surgery he had in April to repair a torn labrum. He signed with the Texans in March but began practicing with the team only last week. Read more http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9665965/ed-reed-eased-action-houston-texans
