New twist in Seahawks’ As the Cornerbacks Turn: D.J. Reed moves from right to left side
The Seahawks’ ongoing shuffling at cornerback — two starters leaving, giving an import millions in guaranteed cash, drafting a rookie and making two trades in the last week — now includes a starter changing positions.
D.J. Reed, the first-teamer at right cornerback since late last season, said following the first workout of the regular season his coaches moved him to left cornerback for practice Tuesday.
“Today, they moved me at left corner. And Tre (Flowers) is at right,” Reed said. “I mean, that’s what I was told today.
“For me, I just work here. They want me to play nickel, they want me to play corner on the right, corner of the left, I’m going to do it.”
Asked if he got the impression this move was temporary or longer term, Reed said: “I mean, from what I can tell, that’s probably what I’m doing right now.
“So, unless something else changes — I’m adaptable — but I feel like that’s (on the left side) is what I’m doing.”
Seattle’s starting left cornerback all August has been former 49ers starter Ahkello Witherspoon. He, like Flowers, is 6 feet 3, the prototype for a Pete Carroll cornerback in Seattle.
Witherspoon signed a one-year contract this spring that guarantees him $4 million. Last week defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said Witherspoon’s performance in preseason games had been “fair.”
Reed was a nickel, fifth defensive back and safety upon his debut with the Seahawks last November. That was after San Francisco had waived him injured in the summer. Seattle claimed him late in 2020’s training camp, knowing he couldn’t play until November.
The 5-foot-9 Reed was a revelation for the Seahawks later last season. So much so, when Quinton Dunbar and Flowers both got hurt at right cornerback Reed became the starter there for the final month of the 2020 regular season.
That’s where Reed stayed through this month’s training camp. When a hip injury sidelined him for weeks, Flowers replaced him as the starting right cornerback. That’s the position Flowers had as a rookie in 2018 and in ‘19.
Asked to assess his cornerbacks before the team’s opener at Indianapolis Sept. 12, Norton demurred last week — and showed Reed is very much in the coaches’ plans.
“Well, it’s hard to say. D.J. just came back from his injury,” Norton said.
“Tre has been having a fantastic camp. He’s been doing really good things. Witherspoon is a guy that’s been making plays. He had a really good day (last Tuesday). He’s having a really good camp. Preseason has been fair.
“At the same time, the competition is still out there. I don’t think any decision has been made. We have some really good players to choose from.”
Since then, the Seahawks have traded a conditional seventh-round draft choice to Houston to acquire second-year cornerback John Reid, and a sixth-round pick to Jacksonville to add former Washington Huskies cornerback Sidney Jones.
The Seahawks selected former University of Oklahoma cornerback Tre Brown this spring as the second of their three picks in the draft. Brown has been injured for much of this month. He’s listed as the second left cornerback behind Witherspoon on the unofficial depth chart published by the team’s public-relations staff.
Seattle waived Reid Tuesday, likely with the intent of him clearing NFL waivers to go onto the team’s practice squad. Reid played only 13% of snaps on Houston’s defense last season, so it’s not as though the league has a lot to go on to claim him before Wednesday’s 1 p.m. end of the waiver period from Tuesday’s cuts. Reid was playing on the left side behind Witherspoon in his impressive first practices last week.
Jones did not practice Tuesday. The team has yet to make his trade official. That likely means he hadn’t completed his post-trade physical examination with Seattle as of Tuesday afternoon.
It will be interesting to see which side the Seahawks play Jones. He has played both left and right cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jaguars.
D.J. Reed was a nickel, fifth defensive back and safety upon his debut with the Seahawks last November. That was after San Francisco had waived him injured in the summer. Seattle claimed him late in 2020’s training camp, knowing he couldn’t play until November.
Carroll has said he loves Reed’s aggressiveness and chip on the shoulder with which he plays, partly a product of the 49ers giving up on him last summer.
Now Reed has become a central part of the Seahawks’ ongoing search for two starters among five cornerbacks.
