Needing Depth, Seahawks Take Flier on Versatile CB John Reid

Since the Seahawks opened training camp in late July, the competition has been on at cornerback with at least six players legitimately vying for starting roles on the outside to replace Shaquill Griffin and Quinton Dunbar.

Unfortunately, injuries to D.J. Reed and Damarious Randall cost both players at least one week of practice and a preseason game, which prevented coach Pete Carroll and his staff from making a true evaluation of two key competitors in the positional battle. The rest of the corner group has, for the most part, largely underwhelmed in two exhibition losses to the Raiders and Broncos without a clear starter emerging yet.

Released by Seattle on Tuesday morning, veteran Pierre Desir was the first domino to fall in the competition. Now, the team could be without fourth-round pick Tre Brown for a while due to a sore knee, which Carroll said prompted the organization to send a conditional seventh-round pick to Houston for second-year cornerback John Reid.

“The fact that Tre Brown is down right now is why John Reid is coming in," Carroll explained after Tuesday's practice. "We want to make sure that we have depth and have the kind of competitive speed that we need out there. We’ve been all the way throughout; we’ve had numbers the whole time and we’re right at the edge of that and we’ve got to make sure to keep our guys together."

When asked about Brown's injury, Carroll couldn't provide a timetable for his return, indicating the team is taking things day-to-day for now. But the decision to trade for Reid suggests the Seahawks may have concerns about him missing significant time with the regular season less than three weeks away.

What does Reid provide Seattle in the short term? Similar to Brown, he doesn't meet the team's traditional size preferences on the outside at 5-foot-10, 187 pounds with just 30 1/8-inch arms. But he's an explosive athlete who tested well at the 2020 NFL combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds, running the 3-cone drill in 6.95 seconds, and posting 20 bench press reps.

On the field, Reid has prior experience playing outside cornerback and nickel cornerback, offering positional versatility the Seahawks covet. In his rookie season with the Texans, according to Pro Football Focus, he played the bulk of his 145 defensive snaps in the slot and only played 15 snaps on the outside.

“Steady, has played nickel, shows versatility, plays inside and outside, shows real good speed. He’s been an active player," Carroll said of Reid. "We’re continuing to seek depth and he had played for [special teams coach] Tracy (Smith) in Houston and so he had some background on him and we knew what we were getting so it helps us out.”

Appearing in 13 games for Houston in 2020, Reid produced nine tackles and a pass breakup while playing primarily on special teams. The former Penn State standout allowed eight receptions on 10 targets for 103 yards and a touchdown in coverage, yielding a 142.9 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks.

Before being traded, the 25-year old Reid had struggled in his second NFL training camp and the general consensus was that the Texans would release him during final roster cut downs. But rather than risk losing him to another team on waivers, with depth concerns aplenty, the Seahawks decided to offer up a conditional late round pick with hopes they may be able to get him back on track.

While Carroll didn't tell reporters where Reid is expected to compete upon his arrival, a team source indicated Seattle plans to play him on the outside where Brown had been seeing snaps prior to his injury. He will also be thrown into the mix on special teams immediately.

Given the terms of the trade and the timing of his arrival towards the end of the preseason, Reid is far from a lock to make the Seahawks final roster. The trade is identical to the one general manager John Schneider made two years ago to acquire cornerback Parry Nickerson from the Jets for a conditional seventh-round selection. Nickerson spent less than two weeks on the roster before being waived and the team didn't have to forfeit a draft pick as a result.

But considering Carroll's track record coaching up defensive backs, Reid has the physical tools and mental acumen to succeed in Seattle. If he impresses right away and Brown winds up missing extended time, the team may have no reservations about parting ways with a seventh-round pick to develop a young corner who remains under club control through 2023.