Seahawks' Jarran Reed Suspended 6 Games for Violating NFL Conduct Policy

The Seattle Seahawks will be without star defensive tackle Jarran Reed for the first six games this season after he was suspended by the NFL Monday:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com added that the suspension was in response to "an incident from early 2017. He was not charged or arrested. His appeal was denied Friday morning."

Reed responded to the suspension on Twitter:

In May 2017, a woman accused Reed of assaulting her, and investigators looked into the allegation. There were no further developments or charges from a legal perspective, however.

But the NFL reserves the right to suspend players who aren't charged or arrested in any circumstance they deem violates the personal conduct policy. Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, for instance, was suspended six games in 2017 after a woman accused him of domestic violence. He was never charged or arrested in that case.  

Reed's suspension comes the same week the NFL abstained from suspending Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who was investigated for child abuse after his three-year-old son suffered a broken arm. Audio of Hill's fiancee, Crystal Espinal, accusing him of hurting their son was also leaked publicly, and in that audio, Hill told Espinal that she needed to be terrified of him after she said Hill's son was frightening of him.

Hill was not charged in the investigation and it was closed, however, and the while the Kansas City Chiefs suspended him indefinitely when the news first broke, the NFL did not choose to punish him additionally. Hill was then cleared by the Chiefs to return to team activities at the start of training camp.  

As for Reed, his absence will be a major blow for the Seahawks. The 26-year-old was excellent in 2018, registering 50 tackles, 10.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries. He's emerged as one of the game's elite interior lineman and has become a pillar of Seattle's defense alongside linebacker Bobby Wagner.