Even with groin injury, Seahawks’ Jarran Reed played ‘best game’

It was far from certain that starting nose tackle Jarran Reed would even play Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks hosted the Carolina Panthers.

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The 30-year-old Reed missed almost the entire week of practice leading up to the game, and he went into the weekend as one of seven Seahawks listed as questionable to play.

Reed definitely played, however. Just ask the Panthers’ offense, who almost assuredly wish he hadn’t been active for Seattle’s 37-27 victory.

Pete Carroll, meanwhile, couldn’t be happier that Reed gutted through his injury to play.

“Wow. What a game he had yesterday,” the longtime Seahawks head coach said during Monday’s Pete Carroll Show on Seattle Sports. “That’s the best game I’ve ever seen him play. It was the best game ever.”

Carroll has seen plenty of Reed’s games in the NFL. A second-round pick of the Seahawks in the 2016 NFL Draft, Reed returned to Seattle in free agency this offseason after two seasons away – he spent 2021 with Kansas City, then last year with Green Bay. Sunday marked Reed’s 109th career game, and his 75th with Carroll’s Hawks.

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Reed was a menace the whole game, registering 1.5 sacks, three QB hits, a pass defensed and eight combined tackles. He also had one of the biggest plays of the game, sacking Carolina quarterback Andy Dalton on fourth down with less than 5 minutes remaining.

Big time sack for veteran DE @jarranreed 💪

📺: #CARvsSEA on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UQdQ05hqXN pic.twitter.com/L7DhRKxJ30

— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2023

Making that all the more impressive is the fact that Reed’s injury is more serious than his play Sunday would suggest.

“He has a major groin injury – I mean legit, it’s on the MRI, the whole thing,” Carroll said. “He said, ‘I’m playing,’ and he just played right through it. It’s not like, ‘Oh, yeah, I feel a groin.’ I mean, it’s MRI validated and all that. It’s legit, second-degree strain, and he just went ahead and played football. Played the best game he’s played – run and pass.”

Carroll said Reed’s impact was felt beyond what showed up on the stat sheet.

“He was a factor in pass rush a number of times, not just the sack and a half that he had, and then he penetrated in the running game a couple times, took advantage of the fits and stuff like that. He’s a marvelous re-addition to this team. It’s great that he’s back.”

The only thing from Reed’s day that could have been better? Apparently his celebration. After his sack, Reed busted out the “Ravishing” Rick Rude-style hip swivel that former Seahawks defensive linemen Michael Bennett used to do after big plays, an appropriate tribute on the day the Seahawks honored their Super Bowl XXVII championship team. While a fitting gesture, Carroll said it wasn’t as good as the original.

“You seem him try to do the dance? He tried to do the Mike Bennett and the (Brandon) Mebane thing,” Carroll said with a laugh. “He couldn’t pull it off, not even close, but the thought was there. It was a nice thought.”

The Pete Carroll Show airs at 9:30 a.m. the day after each Seattle Seahawks game during Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports. Listen to this week’s edition in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.

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