Jarran

Reed

Reed signed a two-year, $10.8 million contract with the Seahawks a last offseason. Henderson reports that the team essentially took $530k from incentives and made it part of the base value of the deal. The salary adjustments seem to give Reed a small contract sweetener and leave him with a deal that retains the same max value, all non-guaranteed. Reed started 16 games for the Seahawks at defensive tackle, totaling seven sacks last season. He now has $370k tied to sack incentives for next season while $530k was taken out and added to Reed’s base salary and in-game bonuses tied to being on the 53-man roster.

Reed managed 51 combined tackles and four sacks in Green Bay in 2022. The seven-year veteran started his career in Seattle, playing his first five seasons for the Seahawks. Reed has started all but three healthy games over the previous five seasons, highlighting a dynamic skillset that allows him to remain on the field in both pass rush situations and against the run. He is likely to soften the blow from the eventual departure of DT Poona Ford.

Reed signed in Kansas City on a one-year deal last offseason. He started all 17 games but failed to make much of his opportunity. The rotational pass-rusher only notched 2.5 sacks while playing on 64 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. He was a liability against the run and earned just two TFLs. Now 29 years old, Reed will likely see his duties scaled back with the Packers. He should settle into a depth role, complemented by high-end pass-rushers on the exterior of the defensive line.

Reed’s contract features $5 million in guarantees. The Seahawks attempted to trade Reed after a contract dispute but weren’t able to find any bidders. They ultimately released him a year after re-signing him to a two-year contract. Reed played all 16 games for the Seahawks last season and racked up 6.5 sacks plus a forced fumble. He peeked at an impressive 10.5 sacks three years ago. Now 28 years old, Reed projects as a high-end rotational player for the Chiefs. He’ll join a loaded defensive line alongside Chris Jones and Frank Clark. Despite the Kansas City offense being their calling card, they’ve also managed to form a talented pass-rushing and remain the team to beat in the AFC.

The team spent much of the day attempting to trade the 28-year-old but was unable to find any suitors. His release, ignited over a dispute on converting a portion of his salary into a signing bonus, will create $8.975 million in cap space. The No. 49 overall pick of the 2016 Draft, Reed still has a number of serviceable years left to offer any team willing to add him to its trenches. He’ll comfortably find a home as a rotational player in a matter of days.

Reed tweeted it and then Schefter confirmed. The sides were reportedly in a dispute over converting some of Reed’s salary into a signing bonus. Reed’s release would create $8.975 million in cap space. The No. 49 overall pick of the 2016 Draft, Reed’s Seahawks tenure got off to a gangbusters start, though he has never quite emerged as the elite player he teased early in his career. Now 28, Reed managed only a two-year commitment from the ‘Hawks in free agency last spring. Reed is still a load in the middle of the defensive line and will generate plenty of interest if he is cut loose instead of dealt.

It’s a generous haul for 27-year-old Reed after he was forced to sit out the first six games of 2019 with a domestic violence suspension and was then mediocre upon his return. Reed briefly had the looks of a future game-wrecker in the middle of the Seahawks’ defensive line, but he has proven to be more space eater than anything else. There is value in that, of course.

“We definitely want him back, absolutely,” GM John Schneider said. “Great guy. Great locker room guy.” It’s perhaps concerning for Reed that Schneider focused on his locker room attributes instead of his play. After looking like an ascendant star, Reed was handed a six-game domestic violence ban. He was then mediocre for the remainder of 2019. 2020 will be his age-28 campaign, making him very old for a fifth-year pro. Schneider has said he does not plan to use the franchise or transition tags.

Reed missed the first six games of the season due to suspension, but is fully expected to suit up Sunday against the Ravens. The six-foot-three and 307-pound DT started 31 of a potential 32 games with the Seahawks over the past two seasons.

The Bellevue PD recommended a fourth-degree assault charge, but Reed was never arrested or charged. Washington law enforcement could not gather the necessary evidence, but the NFL’s investigators apparently did. The league has not elaborated on the findings that led it to hand down a six-game suspension.