With just a week left before the start of the regular season, the cornerback position for the Seattle Seahawks remains in flux.
The team has made a pair of trades in the last week — acquiring John Reid from the Houston Texans and Sidney Jones from the Jacksonville Jaguars — in an attempt to bolster the position. Though Reid was waived on Tuesday, the moves indicate a relative uncertainty at the spot at this stage in the preseason.
Additionally, D.J. Reed said after practice on Tuesday that the team moved him to left cornerback in practice to play opposite Tre Flowers at right cornerback. Reed had finished last season as the starter on the right side and had begun training camp in the same spot before a hip strain sidelined him recently.
“Today they moved me to left corner so Tre’s at right,” Reed said.
Reed said it was his impression that the move was indicative of what he’ll be doing moving forward.
“From what I can tell that’s probably what I’m doing right now,” he said.
“So 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 on the left, I’m going to do it. That’s just what it is.”
Reed moving to the left side to play opposite Flowers would indicate that the team doesn’t feel completely sold on Ahkello Witherspoon at the spot. He’d spent much of camp at the left corner position, especially with Reed sidelined for a couple of weeks. The addition of Jones in trade from the Jaguars also speaks to some concern over their depth at the position.
Seeing as the Seahawks open against an Indianapolis Colts team that may be starting Jacob Eason, it may not be the biggest concern for Week 1. But it’s a bit interesting that the roles have yet to be truly locked down with the regular season on the horizon.