Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney brings many things to the Seattle Seahawks’ defense, including athleticism and speed off the edge. As a former first overall pick, he is expected to be a massive contributor for Seattle, and he showed immense promise in Week 1 that should carry over to the next week and beyond.
However, one of the less noticeable things he brought from Houston to Seattle was his number 90. This number previously belonged to defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who is currently serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Reed wore the same number during his playing tenure at Alabama and now wears the number 91 for the Seahawks, but Clowney confessed that he had to pay the fourth-year defensive tackle for the number he coveted.
“I’ll let him tell you when he gets back,” Clowney told 710 ESPN Seattle when asked for details. “It wasn’t cheap, I’ll tell you that.”
Reed is coming off a breakout 2018 campaign in which he recorded 50 combined tackles, 10.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 24 quarterback hits. Clowney knew that Reed would not give up his original number easily because of his production last year, but expressed his respect to his fellow defensive lineman for his capitulation.
“He’s good, he’s a great player,” Clowney said. “I knew he wasn’t going to come up off it cheap, so I was expecting to pay for it… He had a great season last year with 10 1/2 sacks, so for him to come in with 10 1/2 sacks and still give me a chance to get that jersey was big, so I appreciate him for that.”
Reed is expected to be back on the field in Week 7, and Clowney and the rest of the defensive line could greatly benefit from his disruptive interior presence. However, they will have to do without him for at least the next five games.
