Seahawks Jarran Reed: 'No Hard Feelings' in Return to Seattle
When the Seattle Seahawks asked Jarran Reed to take a pay cut two years ago, the veteran defensive tackle wasn't interested in obliging to the request and ultimately, after failing to find a trade partner, the organization cut the long-time starter in a cost-cutting move.
Such unfortunate circumstances are far from foreign in the NFL, as teams have to balance the salary cap each year and as a result, it's common for expensive veterans still under contract to get the boot. In most of those cases, the two sides don't get back together. It's the harsh reality of the business.
But when the Seahawks and Reed split up in March 2020, the former second-round pick out of Alabama didn't hold a grudge against general manager John Schneider or coach Pete Carroll. While understanding the business side of the equation that led to the split, he also knew from his conversations with the team's brass that the "door's always open" for players to return someday.
Sure enough, following two years in Kansas City and Green Bay, Seattle came calling during free agency last month with an opportunity for him to come back. After biding his time weighing a few offers from other teams on the table, Reed signed a two-year contract, joining linebacker Bobby Wagner as the latest players to happily return to the Pacific Northwest for a second act.
Looking back on his departure, Reed told reporters on Wednesday that the two sides never wanted to part ways, and the allure of playing for Carroll and the Seahawks again was a chance he couldn't pass up.
"That's the part about this game. It's a football side and a business side," Reed explained. "And, at that particular time, I just didn't feel like hands were meeting. So, they had a decision to make, I had a decision to make. Obviously, I made that one and they had to make theirs. But, it's no hard feelings, it was just all business and eventually it led me back here."
Echoing comments from Wagner and other players who found their way back to Seattle, Reed cited the culture created by Carroll as the primary factor in his decision to return. After spending his first five seasons with the franchise, the familiarity between the player and the team coupled with right scheme fit made it an easy choice for him to make at this stage of his career.
In his first stint with the organization, Reed evolved from an early down run stuffer into one of the better all-around interior defenders in the NFC. After producing only three combined sacks in his first two seasons, he exploded with 10.5 sacks in 2018, joining Hall of Famers Cortez Kennedy and John Randle as only the third defensive tackle in Seahawks history to hit double digits in the category in a single season.
Over five seasons in Seattle, Reed amassed 194 tackles, 22 sacks, and 58 quarterback hits, making him one of 11 defensive tackles from 2016 to 2020 to post such numbers.
Now entering his eighth season, Reed believes his experiences playing in two different schemes with the Chiefs and Packers over the past two seasons have further enhanced his versatility as a player in his homecoming. In Kansas City's 4-3 system, he saw more action as a nose tackle covering the center or shading A gaps, while Green Bay deployed him as a 3-technique defensive tackle and also played him a fair amount outside as a big base end in its 3-4 scheme.
Though the Seahawks transitioned to a hybrid 3-4 defense last season under coordinator Clint Hurtt, who Reed credited for having a "major impact" on his development as his positional coach earlier in his career, he feels "well equipped" for any system and doesn't expect his role or responsibilities to be much different than his first go-around with the organization.
"I think it'll be similar because I can go all the way back to Alabama, we played that kind of system as well and I'm very comfortable in it," Reed stated. "I don't think it would be any type of issue. I think I could just slide in and fit perfect. As long as we know the terminology that we're using, different types of other things when we play in certain personnels. I don't think it'd be much of a difference."
As for the defense Reed will be re-joining in Seattle, he sees a great deal of upside at all three levels, including an overhauled defensive line and a fast, ball-hawking secondary. Along with his return, the team also signed pass rushing stalwart Dre'Mont Jones and versatile safety Julian Love in free agency, adding two ascending talents in their mid-20s to a unit that finished 25th in scoring defense a year ago.
Of course, holes still remain up front, with Reed's arrival coinciding with the release of former teammates Quinton Jefferson and Al Woods. As he knows all too well on a personal level, it's how the business operates, and further moves will need to be made to build around him and Jones in the trenches.
But with him and Wagner back in the fold teaming up with safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams as veteran leaders for an otherwise young defense, Reed hopes to play a key part in getting the Seahawks back to playing the tough, stingy defense that fueled their run of playoff success under Carroll a decade ago. If they're able to recapture that, after exceeding expectations making the postseason a year ago, he foresees a special, exciting season upcoming for the franchise.
"The energy around here is great. I can go on for days, just the chance to get back to play for Pete. Everybody got things they want to do and if we were to make a deep run in the playoffs or make the Super Bowl - I don't want to talk too far ahead because we got to work for everything - but what better place to do it than Seattle?"
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