Shaquill Griffin latest Seahawks free agent to exit, heading home. D.J. Reed, come on down
Shaquill Griffin is going home.
And D.J. Reed is the Seahawks’ new man at cornerback.
Griffin has agreed to sign with his home state Jacksonville Jaguars on the second day of free agency. It’s a three-year contract potentially worth up to $44.5 million with $29 million guaranteed for Seattle’s 2019 Pro Bowl cornerback, according to Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic.
Griffin said in January and multiple times before that he wanted to remain with the Seahawks, who selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. But he knew Seattle had relatively limited salary-cap space to spend in this free-agent market, with needs at multiple other positions. That includes center, guard, running back, defensive line, edge rusher, tight end — and now cornerback.
“I know at the end of the day, everything is a business,” Griffin, 25, said in January.
In free agency, money talks. The Jaguars and 16 other teams have more of it, and more buying power in this market, than the Seahawks do.
That plus coach Pete Carroll’s and general manager John Schneider’s approach for 11 years to wait through the first, expensive wave of free agency to buy cheaper on secondary tiers are why Seattle as of Tuesday had signed no one and lost Griffin, running back Carlos Hyde and wide receiver Phillip Dorsett.
All have agreed to sign with the Jaguars, who now also have former Seahawks offensive coordinators Brian Schottenheimer and Darrell Bevell on Urban Meyer’s new coaching staff.
Griffin’s departure means 2020 surprise D.J. Reed is poised to become a new Seahawks starting cornerback.
The other starter there last season was Quinton Dunbar. He is also a free agent. The team is trying to re-sign him. Dunbar missed six games last season and will be less expensive than Griffin to retain.
Tre Flowers remains under contract with Seattle for 2021, the final year of his rookie contract as the team’s fifth-round pick in 2018. He was the starter opposite Griffin in 2018 and ‘19.
The 24-year-old Reed outplayed Flowers last season.
In fact, Reed was a revelation at cornerback.
The Seahawks claimed the former 49ers safety off waivers basically for free last summer. San Francisco general manager John Lynch told Reed he wouldn’t play the 2020 season because of a torn pectoral muscle from the summer. The 49ers were planning to pass him through waivers and likely onto injured reserve early in training camp, which would indeed have ended his season.
Schneider blocked his division rival’s plan for Reed. Seattle claimed him, basically on layaway. The Seahawks knew Reed was a couple months, at least, from being healthy enough to play.
Three months later, he was.
Reed played nickel, safety, left cornerback and right cornerback. He also replaced David Moore as the primary punt returner. Moore is currently a free agent.
Reed earned keeping Flowers’ old right cornerback job. Reed was a startling difference maker with speed and want-to in his four starts after Flowers went on injured reserve Dec. 5.
The Seahawks acquired Dunbar in a trade from Washington last March to replace Flowers full-time as their starting right corner. But Dunbar went on IR in November needing season-ending knee surgery. He played 10 of 16 games.
Dunbar gave away many passes at the sideline while playing too deep behind receivers, particularly on third downs. His chronic knee injury became an obvious liability on the field. Bills quarterback Josh Allen specifically exploited the hobbled, conservative Dunbar Nov. 8 when Buffalo rolled up 44 points and soared over Seattle. It was the most points allowed by the Seahawks since Carroll became their coach before the 2010 season.
Reed was much more aggressive in coverage and on passes in flight.
With Griffin now gone, Reed is the best cornerback on the roster. He has one year left on his contract with Seattle, at a bargain $920,000 for 2021.
Reed plays with straight-line speed to the ball, to receivers, to ball carriers and into punt-coverage tackles. He also plays with an edginess from previously being slighted, told by the Niners he was done for 2020.
“Man, chip on my shoulder. Forever. For real,” he said.
“It’s heavy.”
Carroll loves that attitude. The coach has won a Super Bowl and been to the playoffs now eight out of the last nine seasons, including this one, while stockpiling motivated reclamation projects like Reed onto his Seahawks rosters.
“He is one of the guys (who) reminds me of Doug Baldwin,” Carroll said late last season.
That was after Reed said he played “pissed off” because Washington targeted him with top receiver Terry McLaurin. Reed got his second interception of the season and his career in that game.
Griffin’s departure likely precedes his twin brother Shaquem also leaving the Seahawks. Shaquem Griffin is a restricted free agent. The team is unlikely to tender a contract offer to its rarely used backup linebacker.
So ends the league’s feel-good story from 2018, when Seattle made Shaquem the first one-handed player drafted into the modern NFL. The day the Seahawks drafted Shaquem three years ago to reunite him with Shaquill, there were tears in the team headquarters.
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 10:18 AM.
