Reed’s health could provide a key offseason addition for Redskins

As the offseason begins, one of the biggest boosts the Washington Redskins could receive for the 2018 season is already on their roster. The Redskins need a healthy Jordan Reed if the offense is going to take the steps forward that coach Jay Gruden envisions.

The quarterback position will be solidified once the Alex Smith trade is official on March 14. The team is looking to bring in help for a receiver room that hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver not named DeSean Jackson or Pierre Garcon since Santana Moss in 2010. There’s hopes of big things from Jamison Crowder, but his career high is 67 catches for 847 yards in 2016. He’s just 24-years-old, so his best years are coming, but he still needs help.

There are high expectations for 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson and he should improve on his 35 catches for 502 yards from 2017. But Reed is an offensive centerpiece. “Getting Jordan Reed back at tight end is going to be critical to our success,” Gruden said of the ex-New London High School star.

The five-year veteran showed out in 2015 with 87 catches for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, he’s never played a full 16-game schedule due to injuries and has missed at least four games in four of his seasons. Hamstring and toe injuries ended his 2017 after six games.

The 6-foot-3, 236-pounder is a massive target with good hands and speed for the incoming Smith, who had success with Vernon Davis in San Francisco and helped Travis Kelce earn consecutive Pro Bowl selections and 1,000-yards seasons in Kansas City the last two years.

“I’m going to assume that he’s going to be there,” Gruden said of Reed. “That’s the way that we’re going to plan. We always have a Plan B, just in case.

“There’s a lot of things that Jordan can do that not a lot of people can do that you’re going to have in each game plan and your installation. If he’s not available to us, then we have other ways we can attack a defense. We have 10-20 plays a game, at least, that are just for Jordan, to get him the rock. We anticipate him being fully healthy. If something does happen, knock on wood, which I don’t think it will, we’ll adjust like we have every year.”

— The Washington Post