Preparing for his 10th NFL season, Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed doesn’t have the end of his career in sight.
Apparently, the Seahawks think the former Alabama standout has plenty left, too. They signed Reed to a three-year, $22 million contract in March that kept him from reaching free agency this offseason.
“It came really fast, and I still feel like I have plenty more left in the tank,” Reed said this week. “It’s Year 10. Has definitely been a long time, but, you know, the game has slowed down tremendously for me. I still feel young, even though these guys here are a lot younger.
“It feels good, man. I feel really good. I feel refreshed. I’m healthy, thank God. You know, just keep staying on top of what I’m doing.”
With 139 career regular-season games, Reed is tied with another former defensive lineman, Jess Richardson, for 27th on Alabama’s all-time NFL list. Among Crimson Tide alumni who spent their NFL careers as defensive linemen, only three played in more regular-season games than Reed – Mike Pitts with 169, Marty Lyons with 147 and Cornelius Griffin with 146.
Reed said he’s tried to keep it fun for nine seasons.
“Coming in the building, it’s just me,” Reed said. “You can’t come in here with a down attitude. We spend a lot of time in this building. You got to just take it to the chin and take it with what it’s for. So I like to have fun. You know, I’m a bubbly person, believe it or not. Not mean. I have fun with the guys in the building. We’re always joking and playing. It just makes the day go by faster.
“And then when you on the field, like, man, you got to love what you do. I love football, so going out there, that’s my sanctuary. I go out there, talking gets me through the day. I think I -- you can ask the guys -- I talk all through individual. I don’t think I shut up enough. And I think I talk all the time in the meeting room, too. But it just keeps us going. I got to tell myself to be quiet sometime, to be honest. It just keeps it fun, man. It makes the day go by. Makes work a lot easier.”
Reed has missed one game in the past five seasons. In 2024, he played 680 defensive snaps, 60 percent of the Seahawks’ total and the second-most among the team’s defensive linemen. He contributed 45 tackles, 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hits, two pass breakups and one forced fumble. His QB-hit total was his highest since 2018, when he registered 10.5 sacks.
“I think it’s just me working on being the best version of myself,” Reed said about his preparations for his 10th season, “and just making sure I’m available for the guys when they need me. Making sure that my game is top tier and making sure that the plays I get, I make everything count. And I think that’s just the main thing that I’m focused on right now.”
Reed also has played in nine postseason games, but his most recent playoff trip came in 2021. Seattle tied for 11th in the NFL in scoring defense in 2024, when the Seahawks were the only 10-win team to miss the playoffs.
“I think we got more room to grow,” Reed said about the Seattle defense. “I think we’re nowhere close to what we want to be. We got to come out and finish in the second half still, but that’s why we keep going out here and practicing hard as we do.”
Reed’s most recent playoff appearance came with the Kansas City Chiefs. A second-round draft pick of the Seahawks from Alabama’s 2015 CFP national-championship team, Reed spent his first five seasons with Seattle, then played one season apiece for Kansas City and the Green Bay Packers before returning to his original NFL team in 2023.
In 2025, Reed could become the Alabama alumnus with the most games with Seattle. Reed has played 105 games with the Seahawks. The only former Crimson Tide player ahead of Reed on Seattle’s all-time games list is running back Shaun Alexander with 119.
Reed didn’t play as the Seahawks tied the Las Vegas Raiders 23-23 in their preseason opener on Aug. 7. But Seattle coach Mike Macdonald plans to play the first-teamers at least a little in the Seahawks’ preseason meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs at 9 p.m. CDT Friday at Lumen Field. NFL Network will televise the game.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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