Eagles rally around Reid after son, 29, found dead

Garrett Reid, the troubled 29-year-old son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, was found dead Sunday in a dorm room at the club's Lehigh University training camp in Bethlehem, Pa., where he spends most of his summers with his father.

Police said the death was not suspicious, and the cause was under investigation. The coach's oldest son had a long history of drug problems, once admitting, "I liked being a drug dealer," and went to prison for a heroin-fueled car crash.

Reid's death stunned the Eagles, who gathered for a team prayer before a morning walkthrough.

"This is a very difficult situation for us all," quarterback Michael Vick said following practice - their first without their coach in five years.

Owner Jeffery Lurie met with the team and told reporters afterward he expected Reid back this week. The Eagles host Pittsburgh in their preseason opener on Thursday.

"There's choices to be made when tragedy happens," Lurie said, pausing to hold back tears. "You can become stronger and even more focused and learn from it and treat life as a challenge, or you can bow down. And Andy is somebody - he said to me, 'I'm going to hit that curveball and hit it out of the park' - and on the field and off the field. And that's the message he wanted me to have."

The police chief at Lehigh, Edward Shupp, said a 911 call was made at 7:20 a.m. about Reid, and that Reid was dead when a policeman arrived at the campus dormitory. The police and Northampton County coroner were investigating.

Shupp said "there were no suspicious activities." Police didn't say who found Garrett Reid or whether any clues to his death were found in his room.

Reid had been staying at the camp where he assisted the Eagles' strength coaches at camp in an unofficial capacity, a not-uncommon role for NFL coaches' sons. He was frequently seen on the sideline at practices and in the locker room after games. Many of the coaches and staff stay in the Lehigh dorms.

Reid seemed to have rebounded from a years-long struggle with drug abuse that landed him in prison.

He was sentenced to nearly two years for a 2007 high-speed car crash while he was high on heroin, injuring another driver. Police found heroin and more than 200 pills in his car. When he surrendered to begin his sentence, prison guards found Reid had tried to smuggle prescription pills into jail.

In the midst of his legal troubles, Reid said he "got a thrill" out of being a drug dealer in a lower-income neighborhood a few miles from his parents' suburban Villanova mansion.

"I liked being the rich kid in that area and having my own high-status life," Reid told a probation officer, according to court testimony in November 2007. "I could go anywhere in the 'hood. They all knew who I was. I enjoyed it. I liked being a drug dealer."

At his sentencing hearing, Reid told the judge: "I don't want to die doing drugs. I don't want to be that kid who was the son of the head coach of the Eagles, who was spoiled and on drugs and OD'd and just faded into oblivion."

His younger brother, Britt, also had problems with drug use and was arrested on the same day as Garrett in 2007 for a road-rage encounter. Police discovered weapons and drugs in Britt Reid's vehicle.

■ PATRIOTS - Tom Brady turned 35 on Friday, earning the quarterback a few birthday serenades from fans at New England's training camp.

While Brady has said in the past he would like to play until he was 40, and has shown few signs of slowing down, the team is getting ever closer to the unthinkable - life without their franchise quarterback.

After practice Sunday, Brady wouldn't say how many more years he would like to play, just reiterating that he would "like to play for a long time."

Great players often combine conditioning, smarts and a love for football to remain effective into their late 30s and beyond, said Nick Caserio, the Patriots' director of player personnel.

"Joe Montana was a great player, (Dan) Marino was a great player, (John) Elway was a good player, (Troy) Aikman - those guys were fun to watch for years," he said.

Quarterback George Blanda played until he was 48, Steve DeBerg to 44 and Bret Favre until he was 41.

■ STEELERS - Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sat out practice Sunday, a day after a teammate stepped on his foot during a drill.

The two-time Super Bowl winner denied a report that he had a left ankle sprain, characterizing it as a "simple bruise."

"We'll take a look at it," coach Mike Tomlin said. "He'll be a day-to-day thing, see how he goes from there."

The Steelers do not practice today.

■ LIONS - Defensive end Cliff Avril reported to Detroit's training camp in Allen Park, Mich., after signing his tender. He will make $10.6 million this season as a franchise-tagged player. He didn't report with his teammates to training camp July 26 and missed more than a week of practice.

Avril is the only NFL player with at least 19½ sacks, nine deflected passes, seven forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries the previous two years.

Avril, a third-round draft pick out of Purdue in 2008, helped Detroit snap its 11-season postseason drought last year with 11 sacks, six forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.