Former Washington Football Team tight end Jordan Reed is retiring from football, according to multiple reports. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report Reed’s retirement.
Before spending last season with the San Francisco 49ers, Reed played six seasons with Washington. Initially a quarterback at the University of Florida, Reed emerged as arguably one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the NFL while with Washington.
Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez called Jordan Reed the “best tight end in the NFL, when healthy.”
Reed became Washington’s primary receiving option. In 2015, he had a career-high 87 catches, 952 yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 games. It was the most games he appeared in during a season in his career.
He made the Pro Bowl the following season with 66 catches, 686 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. However, his career was marred by various injuries, highlighted by at least seven documented concussions.
He also suffered a number of knee and toe injuries. After being limited in 2017 and 2018, Reed broke out with a strong training camp in 2019. He was tabbed once again as the focal point of Washington’s offense.
Unfortunately, a helmet-to-helmet hit by Atlanta Falcons safety Keanu Neal during the third preseason game resulted in another concussion for Reed. Neal was fined for the hit. Reed, however, had a tough time recovering from the concussion and did not play a snap during the 2019 season.
Reed remained in the league’s concussion protocol through February of last year. Eventually Washington released him shortly afterward. He then signed with the 49ers in 2020 where he had 26 catches, 231 yards and four touchdowns. He finishes his career with 355 catches, 3,602 receiving yards and 28 receiving touchdowns.
Reed becomes the second former Washington player to retire in the last two days. Quarterback Alex Smith, who spent the past three years with Washington, announced his retirement Monday after 16 seasons.
