By Bob Condotta
The Seattle Times
Seahawks cornerback Kalan Reed’s neck injury that landed him on injured reserve likely also ended his career, according to a report Thursday that was independently confirmed by the Seattle Times.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that Reed’s agent, Harold Lewis, said injuries to Reed’s third and fourth vertebrae caused numbing and “put him at serious risk if he plays again.”
Reed had been competing for the Seahawks’ nickel cornerback spot but was placed in injured reserve Tuesday, ending his season.
Reed apparently was injured in Seattle’s second preseason game of the year at Minnesota on Aug. 18, a game in which he played just six snaps.
He had been seeing specialists and did not play against the Chargers last Saturday with coach Pete Carroll then confirming that he had a neck injury.
Originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans out of Southern Mississippi in 2016, the 5-foot-11, 199-pound Reed was in his first training camp with the Seahawks this year. He was “Mr. Irrelevant” in the 2016 draft, picked last at No. 253.
With Reed on IR, the nickel cornerback spot is down to Akeem King, Jamar Taylor and rookie Ugo Amadi.
“Competition is everywhere,” Reed said earlier in camp. “Just trying to get better every day out here. Just trying to make the defense better, trying to make the team better, and that’s an every-day-type deal out here.”
Reed was signed to Seattle’s practice squad last Nov. 3 and then promoted to the 53-man roster on Nov. 6, apparently after another team had expressed interest in signing him to its own 53-man roster.
Reed spent the rest of the 2018 season on Seattle’s 53-man roster but did not play in any games. The team kept Reed on the active roster in part with an eye toward the 2019 season and knowing that Justin Coleman — the team’s primary nickelback last season — might not return. Coleman, who became a free agent, signed with Detroit in March and Reed then joined the nickel competition with King, Taylor and Amadi.
He had been considered as the starter heading into the Minnesota game.
