Reed’s Contract Includes Four Void Years

New Packers defensive tackle Jarran Reed’s one-year deal includes a low salary-cap charge thanks to the contract’s structure.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers signed defensive tackle Jarran Reed to a one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million, according to a source.

As part of the contract the 29-year-old agreed to on Tuesday, Reed was given a $1.865 million signing bonus and a league-minimum base salary of $1.035 million. Roster and workout bonuses pushed the total to $3.25 million. Playing-time and sack incentives can add to his payday.

To maximize the team’s remaining salary cap, four void years were inserted at the end of the contract. That means a signing bonus proration of just $373,000. That results in a cap charge of $1.758 million.

Along with contracts for tight end Robert Tonyan, which includes roster bonuses of $1.51 million that are tied to the number of games played, and cornerback Rasul Douglas, which included a $5.3 million signing bonus, the Packers have a little more than $15 million of cap space.

A second-round pick in 2016, Reed was taken one selection after the Packers grabbed offensive tackle Jason Spriggs. He has 24.5 sacks in six seasons, including 10.5 in 2018. He had two sacks in 10 games in 2019, 6.5 sacks in 16 games in 2020 and 2.5 sacks in 2021, his one season with Kansas City.

Other than a six-game suspension to open the 2019 season, Reed has missed only one game in his career. Over the last five seasons, Reed has started all 74 appearances. He’s played a lot, too, with snap rates of 78 percent in 2018, 70 percent in 2019, 74 percent in 2020 and 64 percent in 2021.

In playoff games against Buffalo and Cincinnati, he had 11 tackles. He matched his season high with four quarterback pressures in the AFC Championship Game against the Bengals, according to Pro Football Focus.

Reed will join Pro Bowler Kenny Clark, veteran Dean Lowry and promising TJ Slaton in giving the Packers what could be a strong four-man rotation. Tyler Lancaster remains unsigned.

“You’ve got to stay grounded and stay focused,” Reed told his hometown Goldsboro Daily News last year. “You have to be your own leader in your own mind, and you have to be responsible. You’ve got to pick out the good stuff to listen to and weed out the bad stuff.”

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (signed with Chiefs)

WR Equanimeous St. Brown (signed with Bears)

TE Robert Tonyan (re-signed with Packers)

RT Dennis Kelly

G Lucas Patrick (signed with Bears)

DT Tyler Lancaster

OLB Whitney Mercilus

ILB De’Vondre Campbell (re-signed with Packers)

ILB Oren Burks (signed with 49ers)

CB Rasul Douglas (re-signed with Packers to form potential no-fly zone)

CB Chandon Sullivan

CB Kevin King

P Corey Bojorquez (replaced by Pat O’Donnell)

S Henry Black (not tendered as an exclusive-rights free agent)

OLB Chauncey Rivers (not tendered as an exclusive-rights free agent)