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After leaving the Ravens and signing with the Texans, Ed Reed said this offseason has been a wakeup call for him in learning about the business of the NFL.

Reed said on 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore that he believed after the Super Bowl that the Ravens would be able to keep the nucleus of their championship team together. It was disappointing for Reed to come to the realization that the Ravens were undergoing a major roster shakeup.

“I didn’t expect this. Did I want it? No, I didn’t want it. But do I understand it? Yes I understand it,” Reed said, via Sports Radio Interviews. “My heart really felt that we had an opportunity to do some special things because we had a core of people. I honestly didn’t know the true nitty-gritty of the business side of it. I didn’t know all the possibilities that would happen and transpired the last few weeks or so. I didn’t know all that would happen the way it did. That put things in perspective as well to let you know the team is kind of going in a different direction. Not rebuilding but in a sense rebuilding, to make different moves and it just wasn’t economically the best situation for me.”

Reed has handled his departure after 11 years in Baltimore with class, but this is a disappointing time for him. Every star player eventually comes to the realization that as he gets older he gets easier to replace, and for Reed, that realization came when the Ravens let him walk.