Jarran Reed crossed into the offseason in an unexpected spot for someone who has spent most of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks.
His playing time had declined, his 2026 cap hit stood at $7.38 million, and Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton even identified the veteran defensive tackle as a potential cut candidate in May.
Four months have gone by, and Mike Macdonald is describing Reed in terms that sound much closer to indispensable.
After Seattle’s 31-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2, Macdonald called Reed “probably the heartbeat” of the defensive line room and perhaps the entire defense.
The comment came after an afternoon in which the 33-year-old produced one of the most efficient pass-rushing performances on a loaded Seattle front.
Macdonald Calls Reed Seahawks’ ‘Heartbeat’
Reed finished Seattle’s win over Arizona with his first sack of the season, but that only captured part of his impact.
According to Seahawks.com, NFL Next Gen Stats credited Reed with a team-high four pressures on only 12 pass-rush attempts. Five of those 12 rushes came against double teams.
Since 2018, Reed has generated 93 pressures when facing a double team, the fifth-most among defensive tackles and the most among nose tackles over that span.
“He’s probably the heartbeat of our defensive line room, probably our defense,” Macdonald said Monday.
Macdonald also praised Reed’s versatility, toughness and intelligence, noting that the veteran handles calls that help get Seattle’s front aligned. That responsibility becomes more valuable on a defensive line formed around waves of contributors rather than one group staying on the field for every snap.
The effects against Arizona reflected that depth.
Seattle pressured Cardinals quarterback Brissett on 41.9% of his dropbacks and pushed that rate to 60% in the second half, according to Next Gen Stats. Arizona finished with only 151 total yards and 10 first downs, while Brissett failed to complete a pass longer than 9 yards.
Reed’s Role Looks Different, but His Value Doesn’t
Sports Illustrated noted that Reed played only 22 defensive snaps against Arizona, accounting for 44% of Seattle’s defensive workload. Leonard Williams played 35 snaps and Byron Murphy II logged 33 as Macdonald continued rotating a deep front.
That workload helps explain why Reed’s box-score production can undersell his influence.
It also gives fresh context to where his standing appeared to be only a few months ago.
Heavy reported in May that Reed had played a career-low 398 defensive snaps in 2025 after logging 680 in 2024. The same story noted his $7.38 million cap hit and roughly $44.83 million in career earnings while examining the possibility Seattle might move on.
Instead, Reed remained part of the rotation. Through two games, the decision is paying off in ways that divert from just the sack total.
His sack against Arizona was his 37th as a Seahawk.
But more importantly for the current defense, he remains capable of creating pressure from the interior without, making opponents have to account for him while Seattle cycles fresh rushers around him.
That’s a good way forward for Macdonald.
The Seahawks can lean on Williams, Murphy and others without asking Reed to carry the same snap burden he once did, while still benefiting from the instincts and physicality that come with an 11th-year veteran.
Reed said after the win that Seattle needs to be “dominant in everything we do.”
Two weeks in, and he’s giving Macdonald exactly the kind of veteran presence behind that standard.
Seahawks’ $44 Million, 11-Year Veteran Earns ‘Heartbeat’ Label After Cardinals Performance