Defensive lineman Jarran Reed recently surrendered two in the hand for one in the bush. Some additional information has emerged regarding Reed’s confusing decision to trade in nearly $9 million in compensation from the Seahawks in 2021 for a base rate of $5 million from the Chiefs.
According to Brady Henderson of ESPN.com, the Seahawks did indeed offer Reed a simple restructuring, which would have converted the majority of his pay to signing bonus and, as a practical matter, would have guaranteed his spot on the roster for the coming season. Henderson also reports that Reed’s agent, Andy Simms, wanted Reed to accept the restructuring.
Reed wanted a long-term deal instead, and the Seahawks declined to give him one.
It’s unclear whether Simms gauged the market before Reed told the Seahawks he didn’t want the restructured one-year deal. Ideally, Reed would have known that no one else would offer to pay Reed what the Seahawks were ready and willing to invest, before telling the Seahawks, “No thanks.”
Chiefs fans and some members of the media loudly have supported Reed’s decision based on the possibility of winning a championship. But is the chance of a Super Bowl title worth nearly $4 million? Most would say no.
Also, the notion that Reed will be more marketable in 2022 based on getting favorable matchups continues to presume that evaluators won’t realize that Reed’s play has been artificially boosted by the extra attention paid to Chris Jones.
In this case, what we don’t know (and may never know) is whether Reed knew that he was giving up that much money when he told the Seahawks he didn’t want to restructure. Regardless of who does or doesn’t agree with the $4 million haircut Reed has taken, hopefully everyone can agree that it’s one that he should have accepted only with his eyes wide open.