In his earliest days as the head coach of the Seahawks, Mike Macdonald spent plenty of time with general manager and president of football operations John Schneider talking about the team's roster.

And though there were players on the roster at that time who had more accolades and honors on their resume, one of the names Schneider kept bringing up was that of veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed.

Reed, the Seahawks' second-round pick in 2016, spent his first five seasons with the Seahawks before joining Kansas City in 2021 and Green Bay the following season, then returned to the Seahawks in 2023. Macdonald knew plenty about what Reed could do on the field having seen him play dating back to Reed's days at Alabama when Macdonald was a young assistant with Baltimore, but he began to really understand what Schneider was raving about as he got to know Reed and see the influence Reed has on the entire team.

"Obviously, I knew who he was as a player from all the way back to Alabama, so I knew he was a great player," Macdonald said. "… John sang his praises throughout the process about the roster and what we think of him as a person and as a leader, and he's really backed that up. He's a guy that's leading the charge defensively. He's just a great personality guy to have around all the time. He just has a great feel for—we talk about being loose and focused—he's just got that mentality. When we mean business, there's a certain standard, and he's going to be the guys that's definitely going to uphold it and show the way to the rest of the team. But also, we're here a lot, we meet a lot and we do football a lot, and he makes it fun."

Last season, Reed became the 50^th player in team history to appear in 100 games for the Seahawks, and this year he will hit another significant benchmark, his 10^th season in the NFL. Reed is unquestionably one of the key veteran leaders on the team—only Johnathan Hankins, DeMarcus Lawrence, Leonard Williams and Jason Myers have been in the league longer, and none have spent as much time with the Seahawks—but despite being a player now called upon to mentor young linemen like Byron Murphy II, Reed doesn't feel that much different than he did when he was the youngster learning from the likes of Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril.

"It came really fast," Reed said of his 10^th season. "I still feel like I have plenty more left in the tank. It's Year 10, it's definitely been a long time, but the game has just slowed down tremendously for me. I still feel young, even though these guys out here are a lot younger. It feels good, man. I feel really good, I feel refreshed, I'm healthy, thank God, and I just keep staying on top of what I'm doing."

When it comes to playing at a high level into his 30s, Reed said the key is "just me working on being the best version of myself. I just want to make sure I'm available for the guys when they need me, making sure that my game is top tier, and make sure the plays I get, I make everything count. That's the main thing I'm focused on now."

And in addition to the production Reed brings, including 4.5 sacks, 45 tackles and 15 quarterback hits last season, he also helps set a tone for the defense, knowing when to be serious and when to make it fun.

"I learned from the best, right?" Reed said, referring to Bennett and Avril. "But coming in the building, that's just me. You can't come in here with a down attitude. We spend a lot of time in this building, you've got to just take it on the chin and take it what it's for. So I like to have fun. I'm a bubbly person, believe it or not, I'm 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. Then when we're on the field, you've got to love what you do, I love football. So going out there, it's my sanctuary. So I go out there, talking gets me through the day—you can ask the guys, I talk all through the individual, I don't think I shut up enough. I talk all the time in the meeting room too, I've got to tell myself to be quiet sometimes, to be honest. It just keeps it fun, it makes the day go by and makes work a lot easier."