When the rankings came out for this year’s top fantasy football tight ends, Rob Gronkowski remained at the top of the list but the No. 2 tight end was the Washington Redskins’ Jordan Reed. Any fantasy football owner who has yet to draft their team should beware though when it comes to selecting Reed with a higher draft pick. Jordan has injured his foot in training camp and his injury history with the Redskins make him a risky pick this season. ESPN reported that Redskins head coach Jay Gruden actually said he does not know when Reed will return to the team.
Reed’s latest injury
The most recent Jordan Reed injury involves a toe injury. The Washington Redskins are sending Reed to a toe specialist and his return is questionable for now. Jay Gruden said that they will wait until Reed is 100 percent healthy before bringing him back so they don’t risk losing him during the important regular season. However, for now, he is on the physically unable to perform list with the sprained big toe. Gruden said that Reed is truthful about his body and they will bring him back as soon as he is ready.
This is smart. Jordan Reed missed 20 games in his first four seasons alone and has only played in more than 12 games one season in his entire career. Reed hit the injured reserve as a rookie after suffering a concussion that didn’t clear up after four weeks.
In 2014, Reed suffered from a chronic hamstring injury that caused him to miss five games.
Jordan Reed enjoyed his best season in 2015, with 87 receptions for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns while playing in 14 games. That performance earned him a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the Washington Redskins. He suffered a concussion in 2016 and missed a total of four games that year.
Jordan Reed is still great
Over the past three seasons, Jordan Reed has led all tight ends in the NFL with 5.5 receptions per game. Of course, Rob Gronkowski is injured more than Reed in recent seasons, but that is still an impressive stat. He is also the No. 1 target for Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has targeted Reed 7.2 times per game, a number higher than any receiver on the team over the last three seasons.
The Washington Redskins have to hope that Jordan Reed is able to bounce back from the toe problems quickly. The Redskins let their top two receivers, Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, go in the 2017 offseason and that opens up 12.5 more targets per game for someone to gain – and Reed is the perfect player to pick up at least a few of those targets for the offense.
