Mike Macdonald confirms Jarran Reed and Julian Love are expected to play Sunday. Said Reed will be in the DL rotation. With Love, Macdonald said when asked if he’ll be on a pitch count, “we have a plan.” pic.twitter.com/2VwWjuMbmt
— John Boyle (@johnpboyle) December 5, 2025
The Seattle Seahawks are set to return defensive leaders Julian Love and Jarran Reed from injured reserve in Week 14.
Head coach Mike Macdonald gave insight into how he’ll deploy the two veteran defenders in their returns from injury. Reed will be in the defensive line rotation, with his contributions utilized mainly to keep the elite duo of Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II fresh. As for Love, Macdonald says they ‘have a plan’ to work him back into the fold.
Reed fractured his wrist and thumb in October and toughed through pain for weeks, but after a closer look, tests revealed a more severe injury than originally thought. He required surgery and a stint on injured reserve.
Love hasn’t played since Week 4 after pulling his hamstring. He returned in Week 4 but couldn’t get back to 100% and required a trip to the IR to let it heal. The trip kept getting extended as it kept flaring up when he tried to run. He’ll finally be back on the field after a nine week absence, but will be monitored closely for another flare up.
This is the first time the Seahawks entire starting defense will be available all season- although no NFL player is fully ‘healthy’ this late in the season after the physicality 12 games in 13 weeks brings. Playing without hesitation is one of the main reasons Seattle’s defense has had massive success thus far, and that won’t be compromised to get players back in the fold. But they wouldn’t bring them back if they weren’t ready to step in and go full throttle.