4 winners and losers from Seattle Seahawks first four games of 2023

Winner No. 2 - Defensive tackle Jarran Reed

Jarran Reed might be the Seattle Seahawks defensive MVP through four games. Yeah, Bobby Wagner has been excellent, of course, and Devon Witherspoon has gotten better each week, but so far Jarran Reed has proven Seattle's decision to sign him as a free agent this offseason and then make him the surprise pick to play nose guard a work of genius.

Through four games, Reed has 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 6 QB hits (which leads the team), and 16 tackles (pretty good for a nose tackle). I am in no way saying that Reed is as good as rookie Jalen Carter seems to be (Reed has more QB hits but fewer sacks and TFLs than Carter), but Reed's play is not that far off from a player many wanted Seattle to take at number 5 overall in the NFL draft.

Reed has been so good that he has become one of the players Seattle can least afford to lose. His backup, Cameron Young, has played decent in short spurts and he has the strength to be a productive player one day, but if Reed were to get hurt then the interior of Seattle's run defense would suffer greatly and the pass rush would slow.

Reed came back to the Seahawks on a two-year deal this offseason. His cap hit goes from $3,030,000 in 2023 to $5.97 million in 2024. His dead cap is only $1.5 million next year. But the way Reed is playing even his 2024 salary is an underpay for him, As long as he doesn't get injured, the Seahawks would be silly dumb to not bring Reed back again next year instead of releasing him to save cap space.