The Seattle Seahawks have reunited with not one, but two former defensive stars this offseason.
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Perennial All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner, a future Hall of Famer, back in Seattle obviously stole a lot of titles, but the Seahawks also brought back defensive tackle Jarran Reed after spending the past two seasons in Kansas City and Green Bay. .
Reed, a 2016 second-round pick, spent the first five years of his career in Seattle, with his best season coming in 2018 with 10.5 sacks.
Now Reed is back as part of a major Seahawks defensive line overhaul.
“Man, it’s like a breath of fresh air,” Reed told Mike Salk on Friday’s Brock and Salk show on Seattle Sports. “I can go back to where it all started and hopefully go chase one of those rings. It’s the dream, especially to win where you started. But it’s a goal I want to achieve. »
When asked how he ended up in the Pacific Northwest, Reed said “of course” he mentioned to his agent early in the offseason that he would like to return to the Seahawks, and he knew Seattle and other teams needed help with defensive tackle. .
“We were just weighing all of our options. And of course, out of all the options, Seahawks was first on my list,” he said. “It was kind of where I wanted to be and we were able to get there.”
So what did Reed learn while he was in Kansas City and Green Bay?
“This (Chiefs head coach) Andy Reid is one of the greatest coaches to coach this game and he’s old school, very old school,” he said. “And actually Green Bay was similar to here with what was being preached, team philosophies, meetings and just competition.”
As for what he learned from Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll during his years in Seattle, Reed said “everything.”
“How to practice, how to practice fast, how to believe in yourself, how to compete, how to be relentless, how to never give up, how to always have hope,” he said. “Because playing games, sometimes playing games, you can think it goes one way and you never know how it ends. You must always keep believing and you must keep competing. It’s so true. You know, you have to keep going because you never know what’s going to happen any time, any down, any play, any game.
Salk asked Reed what’s different about him now compared to when he left Seattle after the 2020 season.
“When I left, I was still a bit young. So going to Kansas City, I had to learn a whole new style of coaching, a style of football from my position coaches and the defense coordinator. Everything was different. I had to learn in a different way and I had to play the way they wanted me to play,” Reed said. “And taking that and going to Green Bay, I was kind of mixed in with what I was taught before. And so just mixing it all up and putting it all together I think coming here now I’m a better all-around player the game has slowed down a lot for me and I’m just trying to be the best I can be for the Seahawks and go out there and hopefully play my best.
Reed’s thoughts on Seattle Seahawks rookies
The Seahawks made 10 picks in this year’s draft, and just like last year, the team’s draft class has drawn praise from various analysts. Count Reed as a fan based on what he’s seen so far.
“This group of guys I’ve seen, they’re ready to work. They listen, they don’t complain, they put on their headphones and come here every day ready to work,” he said. “I actually really like his band because they have fire in them. And if you tell them something once, they’ll come back and try to fix it. And you can tell they focus on what we’re trying to frame them on.
Two of Seattle’s rookies will play alongside Reed in fourth-round nose tackle Cameron Young and fifth-round defensive end Mike Morris. Reed shared some thoughts on these two during the interview with Salk.
“I’m going to make sure I’m on his ears and try to give him all the knowledge I need to give him with everything I’ve learned,” Reed said of Young. “I don’t want to hold anything back. I want guys to be awesome. We all need these guys to step up this year and play, and I just want to make sure he’s ready to go with any type of help he needs with hand placement or the output of his hip steps, anything like reading the offense, seeing what’s going on, pre-snap touches, game recognition, that sort of thing.
Along with Morris, Reed said he thinks the Michigan product “is going to be really good.”
“I like Mike a lot… You can tell he was well trained right out of college,” Reed said. “Everyone taught differently in college and there are so many different types of coaching teams, but he comes ready to play. I think he has a long way to go, but it’s really minimal what he has to do. His (growth) is going to be more mental than anything else.
Listen to Reed’s full interview at this link or in the player below.
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