D.J. Reed was going to catch Tuesday’s premiere of “Hard Knocks” no matter what it took.
The Jets cornerback was in Spartanburg, S.C. for joint practices with the Panthers when the docuseries released its first episode, and said his hotel room only had Netflix and did not have HBO on its TV, and he didn’t have access to watch himself.
So, Reed improvised.
The 26-year-old called his girlfriend on FaceTime and had her flip the camera to the TV so Reed could watch the hour-long episode from his phone.
She was just FaceTiming me and when her hand was getting tired I was like ‘Whoa, whoa whoa straighten the camera back up,” Reed told reporters on Thursday.
“So I watched it like that. But it was cool, though. I was like, ‘Dang, they did a good job.’ But I probably gotta rewatch it because I didn’t get everything. Sometimes she was pausing it because she wanted to text.”
Alongside the main Aaron Rodgers storyline, the first of the season also featured the defensive backs that helped the Jets’ defense rank No. 4 in NFL during the 2022 season.
Reed, in his first season with Gang Green after signing in March 2022, found great chemistry with 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner while also posting a career-high 80 tackles and 12 passes defended.
The cornerback, who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the 49ers, had previously spent two seasons in Seattle before landing in New York.
Heading into his sixth season in the league, Reed said the defensive backs’ slogan of the year is “young and turnt,” a phrase that he attributed to second-year safety Tony Adams.
“Yeah, TA, that’s my dog. … Just the energy he brings, and he’s also showing it by how he’s playing,” Reed said on Thursday, according to the Jets’ official site.
“[Adams] definitely motivates me when I’m playing out there. He makes a play and he’s gonna swag, he’s gonna let you know about that. And he’s making plays every day. It’s his work ethic, for real, before, during, even post-practice.”
Reed will get to watch himself, Adams and the rest of the Jets on “Hard Knocks” until the Sept. 5 final.
They then open the 2023 campaign on Sept. 11 when the Bills come to MetLife Stadium for “Monday Night Football.”