DANNY AND GALLANT

What are Seahawks losing by moving on from DT Jarran Reed?

Mar 26, 2021, 12:10 PM | Updated: 1:48 pm

Seahawks Jarran Reed...

Jarran Reed had 6.5 sacks in 2020, though 5.5 came after Carlos Dunlap joined Seattle. (Getty)

(Getty)

Seahawks fans got the bad news first on Thursday. After they got the good news, however, that bad news didn’t seem so bad after all.

Rost: Three thoughts on the Seahawks’ big D-line shuffle

Shortly after defensive tackle Jarran Reed took to Twitter to announce he and the Seahawks would be parting ways midway into his two-year contract, it was reported that the money Seattle would save by making that move would go to defensive end Carlos Dunlap, who will re-sign with the team on his own two-year deal.

Reed’s been a productive player for the Seahawks, making 10.5 sacks in 2018 and 6.5 sacks last year. So just how big of a loss is it for the Seahawks, who officially released Reed on Friday afternoon? Friday morning on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant, hosts Danny O’Neil and Paul Gallant discussed with former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus on the daily Blue 42 segment.

Let’s look at what they said.

Michael Bumpus

“It’s a bigger loss if Dunlap isn’t here. It’s a loss because you’re losing a guy who was productive, especially at that D-tackle spot. The only guys I expect to get a bunch of sacks at D-tackle are (Kansas City’s) Chris Jones and (the Rams’) Aaron Donald. Other than that, I’m like, ‘OK, you take the double team, we’ll take 10 tackles and two to three sacks (from the defensive tackle).

“When you lose a D-tackle who’s doing things that not a lot of other D-tackles are doing, then you’re taking a step back, but you take a step forward when you sign guys on the edge who are going to pick up that slack. So, it is a loss, but you have young guys, you have veterans, I think they’ll be OK. If I could keep J-Reed, I’d keep J-Reed, but I’ll take Dunlap, (Benson) Mayowa and (Kerry) Hyder over J-Reed.”

Paul Gallant

“I think it’s a step back for the short-term, but I think you’re going to miss (cornerback) Shaquill Griffin a lot more. My big frustration with Reed, and one of the reasons I thought the contract that he got after ’19 was strange, is that when he’s good, he’s good, (but) he’s just very inconsistent. This was the common sense decision that you try to renegotiate (with Reed), and if he’s not willing to do it, then you see what you can get in return for him.”

Danny O’Neil

“Seattle usually has pretty clear lines about its pay structure at defensive line, and Reed was the exception in that they paid him sort of in line with what Michael Bennett got as someone who could provide pass rush from that interior spot. When did Reed’s sacks tick up this past year? It’s when Dunlap got there (note: Reed had 6.5 sacks in 2020, with 5.5 coming in Week 8 or later, which is when Dunlap made his Seahawks debut following a midseason trade). He wasn’t necessarily creating pressure from the inside. He was benefiting from attention that they paid to the outside guys, and I think Seattle was like, ‘We like J-Reed as a player, we’re just not going to pay that extra oomph for him to provide pass rush because we don’t think he’s actually doing that.’ He’s more of that early-down run stuffer.”

You can hear the full conversation in the podcast at this link or in the player below.

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What are Seahawks losing by moving on from DT Jarran Reed?