Never Give Up and Stay Hungry

“Just getting to know him, there’s not a stone he leaves unturned,” D-coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “A lot of people throw that term around: ‘He’s a dog, he’s a dog.’ Well, he’s a dog, he epitomizes it in every way. I had no idea about the diet but it doesn’t surprise me.”

Reed said after he got to Seattle in 2020, he was looking for some nutritional assistance because his fish dishes weren’t getting it done. He started his Seahawks stay with six weeks on Non-Football Injury following a pectoral muscle tear from an offseason workout. Then last year, he said, “I was having little minor injuries. So I talked to Russell Wilson’s chef and he pretty much said, ‘Bro, you’ve got to start eating meats because you’re breaking your body down.’

“I started incorporating chicken slowly, then steak, and I stayed healthier on the field. I’m still doing that now.”

His health also fed into his two Seattle seasons, the best of his career. He became an outside CB starter, averaged 5.83 tackles/game — third-best among NFL corners for those two years — and mixed in seven takeaways and 17 pass defenses.

Reed came east as an unrestricted free agent in March and he likes everything about the lay of the land in North Jersey. HC Robert Saleh, the Jets’ safety plans and their draft picks “were a big encouragement for me, really.” Of the secondary, he said, “I’m excited. … I think we can dominate.” Of going against WR Elijah Moore in practice: “Personally, he’s the real deal.” Of the wideout corps in general: “They’re going to be lit. I think they’re going to be real good.”

Meanwhile, Reed is feasting on the knowledge he’s getting every day in learning the Jets’ scheme so that he’s ready to go to keep proving people wrong about him as he takes on the Green & White schedule. Including a little trip to the Mountain Time Zone to play the Broncos, significant for him for a couple of reasons.

One is ancient history: His first big game as San Francisco’s nickel as a rookie in 2018 was vs. the…