Austin Reed was on daddy duty, taking his baby daughters to a pediatric appointment when the Ravens called.
Did he want to get back into the NFL? You bet.
Juggling family and football is nothing new for the Ravens' new 26-year-old quarterback. Reed literally did it after Saturday night's preseason opener at M&T Bank Stadium when he had to safely take a baby handoff from his wife from the stands to capture a special postgame moment.
Reed is competing for the Ravens' No. 3 quarterback job with undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano, who also excelled in his NFL debut. But Reed and his family have already won the most important battle.
Let's back up to the beginning. Undrafted out of Western Kentucky in 2024, Reed spent his rookie season on the Chicago Bears' practice squad but didn't make the team after the summer of 2025, when he was coached by current Ravens Offensive Coordinator Declan Doyle.
His first workout after being cut was with Baltimore, but the Ravens didn't sign him, and neither did anyone else. Most teams had their quarterback depth charts set and were more open to adding veterans when injuries arose.
As the NFL season was ending, the possibility of playing in the United Football League arose.
"I was like, "Man, I don't know — do I want to play in the UFL, or do I just say 'Hey, maybe that was it?'" Reed said.
"But I talked to my wife and she said, 'I feel like you're going to regret it if you never play in the UFL. Just give it one more shot — see what it turns into. If it turns into another opportunity, awesome. If it's the last time you ever played football, at least you got to play football one more time.'"
Reed signed with the UFL's Dallas Renegades in January and beat out the starter from the previous two seasons, Luis Perez, who led the league in passing in 2025.
The move paid off. Reed quickly became a UFL star, setting the record for touchdown passes in a season (21) and the single-game record for passing yards (376). In 10 games, he finished second in the league in passing yards (1,923).
But behind the scenes, their lives were upside down. Pregnant with twin girls, Reed's wife, Peyton, had to go to the hospital at just 26 weeks. A week and a half later, the twins were born via emergency C-section and weighed just 2 1/2 pounds each. They were also born one week before Austin's first UFL game.
"Not only are you worried about their safety, but you're worried about your wife's safety too — it's a crazy thing," Austin said. "You try to keep your head on straight and think, 'Hey, what would they want me to do? They would want me to make sure I'm still doing my job and taking care of our family the best I can.'"
Every day, Austin tried to continue his football dream. Every night, Austin drove down to the neonatal intensive care unit in downtown Dallas to be there for Peyton and his baby girls, Beckham and Tatum.
The babies went into the NICU a week before the season started. They didn't come out until a week after his last game. After 83 days, they finally came home on June 13.
"It took a toll after a while during the season, trying to be a pro and do the best I could through all of that," Reed said. "Then it was obviously extremely special when we finally got to take them home. It's been unbelievable the last two months having them home."
The Ravens called Reed because veteran Skylar Thompson was being placed on injured reserve. He was on his way to the pediatrician for an appointment with the babies at the time.
Reed had familiarity with Doyle's offense and could come in and catch up quick. Plus, he had lit up the UFL.
Despite being on the team for just four days and having limited practice reps, Reed's number was called in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game. He made the most of it, completing both of his passes for 14 yards, taking a roughing the passer penalty with a smile, and scrambling for a 14-yard touchdown that even he seemingly couldn't believe.
"When I rolled out, I realized nobody had me and nobody was really spying the quarterback. I was like, 'Alright, I think I'm fast enough to get to the corner of the end zone' — and thankfully I was," Reed said.
"I was celebrating with Carl Jones, who I had spent time with in Chicago, and Carl was like, 'I don't remember you doing that in Chicago.' I was like, 'I didn't do that in Chicago. I don't know if I've done that much in my career.'"
Austin and Peyton were a bit apprehensive about bringing the baby girls to the game, but they went for it. How many more opportunities will they get?
During the game, his mind was on football. But afterwards, he made another dream come true. Austin went to the stands to celebrate with his family and held a girl in each arm for a photo from the special night.
"I don't know if we planned to have kids this young or if I knew I was going to play football this long, but as a kid I always dreamed, 'Hey, one day I'm gonna be playing in the league and I'll have my kids there with me,'" Austin said.
"So yeah, it's really special. That's a cool memory that one day we'll look back on and be like, 'Hey girls, look — this was us.' It's definitely one of those things that are really special and that we'll cherish forever."
