The Baltimore Ravens had to make the announcement that Ed Reed was officially retiring Wednesday because no one would have believed it otherwise.

That's what made Reed one of the best to ever play the safety position. No one knew what he was thinking, and no one knew what he was going to do. Reed's brilliance was his unpredictability.

In my 15 years of covering the Ravens, Reed was the toughest player to read, a sentiment shared by almost everyone who crossed paths with his mercurial and mesmerizing personality. He was the wildest of wild cards who fooled many on social media recently when he announced his retirement on April 1. Reed always knows how to keep you guessing, which played a big part in him being named to nine Pro Bowls and eight All-Pro teams.

Quarterbacks never knew where the ball-hawking safety was going to be, and neither did his teammates or coaches. Not the fastest or biggest safety, Reed put himself in a different class of defensive playmakers because of his instincts. And Reed trusted those instincts over defensive game plans at times, which made him dangerous, dynamic and thrilling.

“Ed was a Hall of Fame player and was absolutely brilliant,” former Ravens coach Brian Billick told me when I was writing my book, "Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore Ravens," two years ago. “But any coach or player that thinks he knows what Ed Reed is thinking or what he’s going to do is mistaken or lying. He could do things that would make you scratch your head and think, 'What were you doing there?' But it was a whole lot more good than bad. He’s just a different guy that way.”

Ed Reed's unpredictability was one of his greatest strengths. Rob Carr/Getty Images

As general manager Ozzie Newsome said in 2003, Reed made safety a glamour position again. He became the first safety in 20 years to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award when he did so in 2004.

Tom Brady would write "find No. 20 on every play" on his wristband when he played the Ravens. Offensive coordinators would essentially throw out deep passing routes of the game plan when facing Reed.

Still, Reed was the ultimate defensive game-changer of his generation. He took a pass from one end of the field and returned it to the other like no one else, and he had a knack for doing it at the most clutch times.

In 2004, he set an NFL record by returning an interception 106 yards for a touchdown against the Browns. Four years later, he broke his own record with a 107-yarder against the Eagles.

Reed scored 14 touchdowns during his career (including the playoffs) and is the only player in NFL history to score touchdowns off a punt return, blocked punt, interception and fumble recovery. His 64 interceptions ranks sixth all-time in league history, and his 1,590 yards in interception returns tops the NFL.

It was uncanny how he knew what was going to happen before it actually did on the field. In typical Ed Reed fashion, he likened football to a hot plate.

"Once you are in the game, it's a certain feel in the game that you get," Reed told The Baltimore Sun in 2003. "Like I told Ray [Lewis], sometimes I can feel the heat of the ball. I love being around that ball, and I know where it's going. So if I have any clue that a quarterback is going to throw that ball to the right side, that's where I'm going."

Reed added, "It could still be in his hand but if he shows any key, that's where I'm going. You can see it on the film. I'll be somewhere, and I'm not supposed to be there. I feel that heat."

It's fitting that Reed is calling it quits this year. He is walking away from the game just months removed from Troy Polamalu's retirement, and the Ravens can honor No. 20 in their Ring of Honor in the franchise's 20th year of existence.

In addition to his unpredictability, Reed always seemed to have perfect timing.