Jarran Reed couldn't sleep on Sunday night. After six weeks away from the Seahawks, Reed could return to work on Monday, and as a result the defensive tackle was restless.

Reed, who is back from serving a six-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy, finally fell asleep at 3:30 a.m. Monday, awoke a few hours later, then waited impatiently a bit longer before heading into work.

"It feels really good," Reed said prior to Wednesday's practice. "I tried not to be the very first one here, so I was at home just waiting. I didn't care about anything on TV (Sunday) night, I was just popping my eyes open and checking the time my phone. I was really excited to be back. Of course, I've been gone 42 days and I counted every one of them. I'm just happy to be back."

Having Reed back is very good news for the Seahawks defense, which last year benefited from Reed having a breakout season in which he recorded 10.5 sacks.

"Getting a guy like that back, knowing the impact he has on the game, the impact he has on other players is very strong," defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said. "Getting him back is a really big boost for us… He's a really, really impactful, physical football player. It'll certainly be great to have him back. I feel great about it."

Added linebacker Bobby Wagner, "It's going to be great. He has been such a key part of our defense, not just his play but his leadership. To just have that back and have him back to provide some pass rush, provide some plays in the backfield, it's going to be huge for us."

While Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he cautioned Reed about not trying to do too much, too soon, Reed insists he is "fully game ready" after working out every day during his suspension.

"I worked my tail off," he said. "Trust me, I'm ready."

While the Seahawks have done a lot of things well on defense this season, they hope Reed can add another element to their play, and in particular to a pass rush that hasn't been as effective as the defense would have liked so far.

"There's no question that when he's back to full speed playing, whenever that happens—if that's now, it would be welcomed—he's a big factor," Carroll said. "He's a big factor. The spacing that happens with a guy that causes problems there, in the sets that happen to take care of him, open up areas and spaces for the other guys… When we mix it up now and we get Quinton Jefferson in there and J Reed, it's going to be a better look for us. It's going to be more of a problem for our opponent. Hopefully, that'll open up things for everybody."

For the past six games, Reed has been watching his teammates on TV, occasionally startling his 3-year-old daughter, Jacey, by getting overly excited when the defense made a big play. But now Reed is back, joining team that is already off to a 5-1 start, looking to get even better on defense now that he's back.

"The team is on fire right now," Reed said. "They're playing some really good ball. I just want to come in and add to it."