The 2024 season was a tale of two halves for the Seattle Seahawks, and their defense especially.
The first half of the season was rife with growing pains for Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde's unit, as it allowed 300+ yards in seven of its first nine games. After taking the bye week to regroup, though, the Seahawks only allowed 300+ yards three times in their remaining eight games.
They also gave up significantly fewer points after the bye, allowing 23 points per game in the first nine and 18.4 in the final eight.
Seattle made some big changes on defense, most notably moving on from linebackers Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson to make way for rookie Tyrice Knight and trade deadline acquisition Ernest Jones.
More than anything, though, it seemed the players really settled in after having more time to learn Macdonald's system.
Now, the Seahawks' goal is to maintain that momentum heading into the 2025 campaign. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed believes they will do just that, saying that the team "ended the season with the escalator going up."
"Everybody's excited, because everybody knows what type of defense we can be," Reed said. "We're setting the standard now to be one of the top defenses in the league."
Reed was a 2016 second-round pick by the Seahawks out of Alabama, spending the first five years of his career in the Emerald City. He then spent one year each with the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers before returning to the Seahawks in 2023.
Last month, Reed signed a three-year extension to remain in Seattle through the 2027 season. As one of the veteran leaders on defense, he feels he has some unfinished business to attend to.
"It's been amazing for me, personally, mentally, just feeling comfortable and feeling at home, being able to play in my back yard," Reed said, per the Seahawks' website. "That's what it feels like, it feels like I'm walking out of my house to my backyard to play football, play a game I love in the place I love to do it.
"I've got goals and aspirations; I want to bring a ring back here. I've been here basically my whole career, and it's turned into home for me."
