SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Seahawks trade for CB John Reid, bring back TE Luke Willson
Aug 24, 2021, 12:51 PM | Updated: 5:22 pm
The Seahawks reportedly traded for CB John Reid, who played 13 games in 2020. (Getty)
(Getty)
The Seahawks were busy on Tuesday, adding a young cornerback to the secondary and reuniting with a familiar face on offense.
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The Seahawks traded a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft to the Houston Texans for cornerback John Reid, who’s entering his second NFL season. That was reported shortly after news broke that the Seahawks were bringing veteran tight end Luke Willson back to Seattle and releasing cornerback Pierre Desir.
Seattle made the Willson and Desir moves official Tuesday afternoon, while coach Pete Carroll spoke about the acquisition of Reid during a press conference following practice, according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, indicating that the trade was a reaction to an injury suffered by rookie cornerback Tre Brown.
Reid, a 2020 fourth-round pick of the Texans out of Penn State, played in 13 games as a rookie last year while making one start. In those 13 contests, Reid recorded 13 tackles and broke up one pass. During his collegiate career at Penn State, Reid made 125 tackles, recorded seven interceptions and was a three-time Big Ten honorable mention.
There were reports earlier in the week that Reid was going to be released, but instead the Seahawks traded a late-round pick in 2023 to bring him to Seattle.
Reid doesn’t have the typical size that Seattle historically has looked for in cornerbacks as he’s 5 foot 10 and has 30 1/8-inch arms, but the Seahawks have shown recently that they’re open to playing smaller cornerbacks on the perimeter such as expected starter D.J. Reed and Brown, Seattle’s 2021 fourth-round pick.
If Seattle views Reid as a nickel corner, he’d compete with third-year defenders Ugo Amadi and Marquise Blair, the latter of whom is dealing with a knee injury, for playing time.
Willson, 31, was drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth round in 2013 and won a Super Bowl ring during his first stint in Seattle, which lasted from 2013 to 2017. He later spent time with the Detroit Lions and the then-Oakland Raiders before returning to Seattle for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Partway through 2020, Willson was released as rookie tight end Colby Parkinson was healthy enough to be the team’s No. 4 tight end, but he returned to the Seahawks late in the year after a brief stint with the Baltimore Ravens.
For his career, Willson has 111 receptions for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Willson will likely slide into the No. 3 tight end role behind Gerald Everett and Will Dissly as Parkinson is dealing with a foot injury that has his early 2021 status in doubt.
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