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Jordan Reed Returns To The Field With Potential To Play Sunday

Jordan-Reed-practice-082317-660-350.jpg

Washington Redskins Pro Bowl tight end Jordan Reed returned from a toe injury Wednesday afternoon without any pain in his first full session in two months.

For the first time since mandatory minicamp back in June, Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed was back on the field for practice on Wednesday afternoon.

Reed was sidelined throughout training camp with a toe injury, as he was placed on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list on July 26. But the Pro Bowl tight end passed a physical over the weekend.

A full participant at practice, Reed said he felt "100 percent" after completing the session.

"I'm feeling good," Reed said. "and it felt obviously great to be back out there with my teammates and again back to work."

Reed was sharp during individual drills and the team's 1-on-1 period. He was the fourth tight end to go through tight end work with position coach Wes Phillips before making a nice catch in 1-on-1s, cutting sharply on an out route against safety D.J. Swearinger.

It showed just why Reed is confident now back on the field. He didn't experience any sort of pain making turns on his injured toe.

"You can't really do that in football," Reed said when asked if he'll avoid certain movements. "So I go out there and try to do my best. [I] prepare myself before practice so I can just go out there and play and not have to think about it."

Reed's return comes at an important time for the Redskins, as the 27-year-old could play in Sunday's preseason Week 3 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals at FedExField in Landover, Md.

The third preseason game traditionally is when the starters play the most, although the first-team offense played the entire first half against the Green Bay Packers. The unit struggled early with three three-and-outs before ending the second quarter with a touchdown in the two-minute offense.

Check out these photos of the Redskins' offense preparing for their preseason Week 3 game against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Aug. 23, 2017, at the Inova Sports Performance Center at Redskins Park.

Reed's presence alone changes the dynamic of the offense, though, as he's become Washington's primary passing threat. If teams hone in on stopping Reed first, whether it be with their best defensive back or even double coverage, it frees up the other receivers to make plays.

"Jordan has unique movement skills, and then because he's often lined up in a way where he's being covered by safeties and linebackers and nickel corners, he creates matchup issues," said Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. "If you want to put your best corner on Jordan Reed, that's one option, but then now you're opening a door for whoever else is out there – a Josh Doctson, a Terrelle Pryor, a Vernon Davis, so on and so forth.

"So, we're always looking for those matchup advantages and they tend to be in Jordan's favor, just because of how uniquely gifted he is. And then, usually a guy covering him is not necessarily the top cover guy on the team."

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden added that "there's a lot of things that he can do that not many people can do at the tight end position."

"It's all on tape," Gruden said. "So, it's good to have him back, but guys have done very well in his absence out here at practice – Niles Paul and Vernon [Davis]. Derek Carrier's done a nice job. Manessah [Garner] has done a nice job.  E.J Bibbs has done some good things, so they've covered the slack for him but Jordan's a special guy."

While Gruden would like to get Reed some game action Sunday against the Bengals, he'll hold the tight end back if there's any issues.

What remains most important right now is that he's healthy for the regular season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 10.

"I think Jordan's the type of guy that has missed time before and come back and not missed a beat," Gruden said. "He's just one of those freakish guys that has the luxury of doing that. Not many other people can do that. Still, you'd still like a player to get some involvement in a game before you play a real one."

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