Kyle Goon: Why a Ravens preseason touchdown meant the world to QB Austin Reed (and his baby girls)

Could Austin Reed have imagined the whirlwind NFL journey he has taken in the last week? Probably not any part of it.

A week ago, he was called to Baltimore for his sixth workout in the last two seasons — the previous five hadn’t gone anywhere. By Saturday, he was scoring a touchdown at quarterback for the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium, not by slinging the ball, but by running it in.

But the hardest part to imagine would have been what awaited him after the Ravens’ preseason 24-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Reed jogged over to the stands, where his wife Peyton squeezed through the crowd to the railing.

Gently, one at a time, she handed Austin their twin 4-month-old daughters, the babies’ eyes squinting under the lights. With a girl cradled in each arm, Reed beamed as he savored his first opportunity to celebrate a win with his children.

For the first 83 days of their lives, daughters Tatum and Beckham Reed lived under constant watch at the Baylor University Medical Center neonatal intensive care unit. When the girls were born three months premature, Austin and Peyton spent many of those nights nearly sleepless with worry. For those months, Reed was almost always in a hurry to leave the football field to head to the hospital.

On Saturday night, there was a lot for the Reed family to celebrate.

“It is a crazy turn of events when you see your baby at 2 1/2 pounds and you think touching it with your finger is gonna break it in half,” Austin said. “Now, we’re bringing them on planes. It’s definitely a blessing for sure.”

Since finishing his career at Western Kentucky in 2023, Reed has been one of the many quarterbacks crossing his fingers for an NFL call. He attended the Chicago Bears training camp in 2024 and 2025, but never has earned a 53-man roster spot on a team.

Reed, however, has never lacked for production. In 2022, he led all FBS quarterbacks with 4,746 passing yards. Making the jump into the United Football League this spring, Reed led that league with 21 touchdown passes for the Dallas Renegades.

His Dallas coach was Rick Neuheisel, a former assistant with the Ravens in the 2000s. In Reed, Neuheisel sees many promising traits for an aspiring NFL passer. He was surprised to see Reed score on a run on Saturday, but not surprised to see Reed turn a broken play into a touchdown.

“It looks vintage Austin: All of a sudden, he can make something out of nothing,” Neuheisel said. “He’s done that a lot. Sometimes he goes a little rogue and tries to put a football where he shouldn’t, but that’s the superhero in him.”

A camera caught Reed’s surprised reaction to his score. He admitted that a running touchdown is not how he thought he would get his points, but the Eagles defense was giving him plenty of room.

“If Lamar [Jackson is] out there, probably somebody has like a QB spy on him,” Reed said. “But they saw me out there and they’re like, ‘Hey, we don’t need to put a QB spy.’” So I just dropped back and I kind of rolled out and I saw nobody had me, and I was just like, ‘You know, I’m gonna take off and run.’”

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Reed, who only started practicing with the Ravens days before going under center in the game, has a gift for making special plays with minimal preparation.

When Peyton had to undergo an emergency C-section for the twins in April, it kicked off three months of long days and nights in the hospital. The Renegades’ staff and players would let Austin get out of practice as early as possible so he could spend time with his wife and daughters in the NICU.

“It was the ultimate multitask, and his attitude never waned,” Neuheisel said. “When we had him, he was always attentive, he was clearly thankful for the opportunity. I’m not sure how he did it.”

Both Beckham and Tatum required hernia surgeries during their hospital stay, which, to the first-time parents, felt like it stretched on endlessly. They prayed and hoped for the best and celebrated every small milestone the twins crossed on their way toward being released.

The twins have now been out of the hospital for about two months at the family home in Pensacola, Florida. When Austin learned he had been signed last Wednesday, he and Peyton wondered if it would be worth it to fly her and the girls out to Baltimore for Saturday’s preseason game. They ultimately decided to do it, unsure if Austin would ever get an NFL opportunity after this one.

Since the twins were in the NICU for the entire UFL season, their parents were especially motivated to make them a part of an NFL memory.

“We’re not going to live in fear,” Reed said. “We thought, ‘Hey, we have an opportunity. Let’s take them. Let’s bring them. They’ll be all right. They’re strong.”

Nothing in life is guaranteed — neither jobs nor life itself. After a scary brush with that realization, the Reeds are making the best of their time in Baltimore.

The girls were on the practice field at Owings Mills on Monday, getting their pictures taken with their mom and dad. It’s unlikely the Ravens will need a fourth quarterback on the roster beyond the preseason, but perhaps this opportunity is what leads to the next one, Austin hopes.

“I really hope at some point my daughters can at least be at a game when I’m playing,” he said. “For us to be able to have an opportunity in the preseason and be able to have them there was just the coolest thing.”

For the Reed family, nearly every moment of the last week has felt like a dream come true. They couldn’t have pictured it, but they’re certainly never going to forget it.