Every NFL defense has one player who wears a headset in their helmet, allowing them to relay play calls from the coaching staff to the other players on the field. That player was Ernest Jones last season but when he was traded to the Tennessee Titans a few weeks ago, it was unclear which player would step in and wear the green dot as the signal caller on defense.
Sean McVay opted not to tell the media which player would take on that very important responsibility but in Sunday night’s season opener against the Lions, we found out who it was. Only four players were on the field for every defensive snap: Kamren Curl, Troy Reeder, Quentin Lake and Tre’Davious White. That narrowed down the possible signal callers a bit.
We could rule out White considering he’s an outside cornerback, a position that typically doesn’t relay play calls. So was it Curl, Lake or Reeder?
After examining some photos from Sunday’s game, we now know it was Reeder calling out the plays on defense; he had the green sticker on his helmet.
You can see it in the photo below.
What does this mean exactly? Well, fans should get used to seeing Reeder on the field a lot this season. The defensive signal caller typically plays every snap each week because he has the responsibility of telling the rest of the players the call from Chris Shula.
Fortunately, Reeder played pretty well in the opener against the Lions so he’s not as much of a liability as some believed he would be. Unless he starts to struggle badly, he’s the new leader in the middle of the defense.