Four key Seahawks that could be casualties of salary cap cuts

Jarran Reed

I don’t like this one either. (Here is a hint; I won’t like any of these cuts as they all are either productive players or could be good players long into the future.) Jarran Reed was a beast after the Seahawks traded for Carlos Dunlap. Since week 9 and including the postseason, Reed had 7.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits. That is in 10 games.

Reed also stays healthy, having missed just one game due to injury in four years. But Reed is also really inconsistent and is the kind of player who relies on outside help to be good. In 2019 in 10 games (Reed was suspended for the first 6 games of the year) the defensive tackle had 2 sacks and 8 quarterback hits and zero tackles for loss. This was a season after Frank Clark left and before Carlos Dunlap arrived. Reed simply cannot do enough on his own.

Seattle would save about $8 million in cap space if Reed is released. The question also then becomes whether Reed is signed by another team, or how much another team wants to sign him for, and maybe Seattle brings Reed back at a lesser salary. If the Seahawks could cut $4 million off the cap hit in 2021 for Reed then it worth be worth trying to re-sign him.

Likely Reed stays on the roster simply for his ability to get interior pressure on opposing quarterbacks. But releasing him to sign a player who gets close to the same, and maybe more consistent, production would be worth it.