Austin Reed (born February 22, 2000) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Southern Illinois Salukis, West Florida Argonauts, and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers before signing with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2024.
Early life Austin Reed grew up in St. Augustine Beach, Florida, and attended St. Augustine High School.
College career
Southern Illinois Reed began his college football career at Southern Illinois.
West Florida Reed transferred to West Florida in the Summer of 2019. He led the 2019 West Florida Argonauts football team to the NCAA Division II national championship. During the national championship season he totaled 4,084 passing yards with 40 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
In July 2021, Reed signed the first Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) sponsorship in West Florida history, striking a deal with the Running Wild chain of running stores.
Western Kentucky After the 2021 season, he entered the NCAA transfer portal and committed in March 2022 to Western Kentucky. He was selected as the team's starting quarterback during summer camp in August 2022.
In his first game at Western Kentucky, he threw four touchdown passes in a 38–28 victory over Austin Peay. Reed passed for more yards in the 2022 season than any other college football quarterback with 4,744 passing yards on the season.
On January 6, 2024, Reed announced that he would enter the 2024 NFL draft.
Professional career
Chicago Bears Reed signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears after going undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown during the preseason, finishing with a passer rating of 117.4. Reed was waived by the Bears on August 27, 2024, then signed to the practice squad the next day.
Reed signed a reserve/future contract with Chicago on January 6, 2025. On August 25, Reed was waived by the Bears.
Dallas Renegades On January 12, 2026, Reed signed with the Dallas Renegades of the United Football League (UFL). On March 25, Reed was named the starter for Week 1 over Luis Perez, who had started the past 25 games dating back to the 2023 season. In his first start, Reed completed 26 of 40 passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns in a 36–17 win over the Houston Gamblers. His 376 passing yards set a new UFL single-game record, surpassing the previous mark of 368 yards set by Adrian Martinez during the 2024 season. Reed ended up starting all ten games for the Renegades; despite going just 4-6 and missing the playoffs, he set a new league record with 21 touchdown passes and finished second to Jack Plummer in passing yards.
Baltimore Ravens On August 12, 2026, Reed signed with the Baltimore Ravens. On August 29, he was waived.
Renegades coach Rick Neuheisel, who was transferred to an expansion Colorado team in September 2026 and with it retained rights to all of the Renegades' players as part of that transfer, expressed interest in bringing Reed to Colorado if Reed was interested in doing so.
Personal life Reed is a Christian. He is married to his wife Peyton. They have two daughters.
Career statistics UFL Legend UFL record Led the league Bold Career high
Regular season SeasonTeam Games Passing Rushing 2026 DAL 10 10 4–6 174 309 56.3 1,923 6.2 21 9 85.5 30 108 3.6 0 Career 10 10 4–6 174 309 56.3 1,923 6.2 21 9 85.5 30 108 3.6 0
College Legend D-II champion Led the NCAA Bold Career high Season Team Games Passing Rushing 2018 Southern Illinois Redshirted 2019 West Florida 15 14 13–1 279 491 56.8 4,089 8.3 40 11 149.2 72 149 2.1 6 2020 West Florida Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 West Florida 11 11 9–2 205 378 54.2 3,375 8.9 38 9 157.6 28 172 6.1 3 2022 Western Kentucky 14 14 9–5 389 602 64.64,744 7.9 40 11 149.1 91 224 2.5 8 2023 Western Kentucky 12 12 7–5 289 470 61.5 3,324 7.1 31 11 138.0 42 100 2.4 4 Career 52 51 38–13 1,162 1,941 59.8 15,548 8.0 149 42 148.2 233 645 2.8 21
References
External links Western Kentucky Hilltoppers bio West Florida Argonauts bio Southern Illinois Salukis bio Austin Reed on Twitter