Fox: Jordan Reed signs 5 Year Contract Extension

[Bacon]

 

Zach Ertz Eagles $42,500,000 $8,500,000 $13,318,527 $2,663,705 31.3% 2022 UFA

Oof. He could be worth that if he cuts out the drops. 

[ncr2h]

I don't think there's much to criticize about this deal, especially the size of the deal.  Reed is worth every penny of that contract.  I think the criticism on that end comes mainly from those who had not heard of Reed prior to last season, as well as die-hard Redskins fans who were toeing the company line last offseason that Niles Paul was the #1 TE and therefore need to pay lip service to the idea that Reed didn't actually break out until this season.

 

Since day 1, Reed has essentially been a top 5 TE.  Here is what PFF had to say about his rookie season:

 

http://www.hogshaven.com/2014/6/25/5843732/redskins-te-jordan-reed-making-the-leap

 

Approximately 225 player seasons since 2008 are ranked here, and Reed's 2013 season finished in the top 15 of two categories. He is one of only 3 tight ends rookie tight ends to ever finish with a YPRR over 2.0 (Gronkowski and Graham). His 2.19 YPRR is the second highest ever recorded by a rookie (Graham). Eight of the thirteen (57%) YPRR seasons that rank ahead of Reeds belong to Gates, Gronkowski and Graham. He ranked 2nd in RPRR and finished just .001 behind Dallas Clark's 2009 season for the most receptions per route run. I need to stop for a second and collect myself here.

 

Over his next 2 seasons, he has gotten even better.  Here's how his 2015 season stacked up:

 

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2016/05/05/draft-why-jordan-reed-can-be-best-receiving-te-behind-gronk-if-he-stays-healthy/

 

Reed followed this up with a breakout performance in 2015, when he was our third-highest-graded tight end in receiving at 94.3. His 2.45 yards per route run was not only the best for all tight ends in 2015, but the third-best for a tight end in our nine years of grading. Part of this was because he had 16 players miss tackles on him, which was tied for the most this year. His 11 touchdowns were tied for second-most. 2015 was also the season he stayed healthiest, only missing two games. His playing time also increased to over 80 percent of snaps in the majority of games.

 

In summary, the moment he stepped on the field he was essentially a Pro Bowl caliber TE.  Just 2 seasons later, it is difficult to imagine that he would not be in the HOF discussion if he were able to stay healthy for 16 games per season for the next 6-8 seasons.  In terms of his peer group, Graham is aging and on the decline.  Gronkowski is certainly more dominant, but IMO his dominance can be negated if referees continue to place an emphasis on offensive pass interference, which is essentially his game.  Reed's game, on the other hand, is about crisp route running and IMO at least in theory translates much more readily into a long-term career of dominance.

[JSSkinz]

He moved the needle by balling out all season, being unguardedable and establishing himself as the best TE not named Grinkowski.

 

I doubt 1 year was all it took to make him pull the trigger.  Look at how he's working the Cousins negotiations, he's taking his time and making sure before we fork out that kind of money.

 

This could be a great signing, it has big value if he stays healthy which is the only thing that can stop him.  What I'm saying is that the decision to sign him now as opposed to later has greater risk, yes we will pay $5 mil more by waiting until next year but at least we would definitely know.

[JSSkinz]

I don't think there's much to criticize about this deal, especially the size of the deal.  Reed is worth every penny of that contract.  I think the criticism on that end comes mainly from those who had not heard of Reed prior to last season, as well as die-hard Redskins fans who were toeing the company line last offseason that Niles Paul was the #1 TE and therefore need to pay lip service to the idea that Reed didn't actually break out until this season.

 

Since day 1, Reed has essentially been a top 5 TE.  Here is what PFF had to say about his rookie season:

 

 

I'm not saying you were referring to me but I've watched him since he was in college, been to the swamp in person a few times when he was was playing there.  Gator fans weren't sure what to think of him, he was recruited as a QB but Meyer switched him  to TE and then resigned. The Gators haven't had a good QB since Tebow so Jordan didn't have a ton of opportunity but everyone knew he had a ton of raw ability. I've lived in Tampa since 2005 so you tend to get a lot of info on the local teams and its players.

[SkinsGuy]

 

I wonder what he did to move the needle with Scott.

 

 

87 catches, 952 yards and ELEVEN TDS in 14 games probably had a lot to do with it I would say.

 

More than that, though, Scott knows a football player when he sees one.

 

Reed is a game-changer. He is almost uncoverable, and this is a totally different offense with him in there.

 

You don't pass up a near-elite player like him, and you don't low-ball him.

 

Try to enjoy the Reed express, and let the front office worry about the cost of it.

[Riggo'sRangers]

This guy is right, it's a huge risk due to his head injuries, I don't see how anyone can say this was a great move unless he plays at least 14 games next year.

 

Disagree.  Strongly.  Hail

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Is there a standard number of concussions that the NFL requires for mandatory retirement? I love what Reed does for our team and how he gives Cousins a reliable target. His history of concussions does give me pause however.

No concussion is alike. While no concussion is a good one, as far as we know, he may have had minimal effects from a few to the point where the doctors and himself felt he'd probably be ok.

My point is that concussions are weird and affect ppl differently. I know athletes in a lot of sports that have had dozens of concussion but shown no ill effects and then you have players like Sidney Crosby who had 2 and missed nearly two seasons.

Basically you can't say that "X" amount of concussions should disqualify you from playing. Apparently Reed and his doctors are not too worried about him long term. The FO obviously feel the same and hopefully, everything works out in the end.

I'd like to think that FO knows what's up and felt the risk wasn't enough to not pay him.

DJax has had a few concussions himself (that first one was probably the scariest collision I've ever seen) and seems to have not had too many ill effects

[Conn]

Nah Brave, Desean can't even type the letter "k" anymore, that's how jacced up he was from those concussions, man.

[TheShredder]

You have to consider the inflation that will be the new top of the class salary next year and so on.  When you sign a deal like this, you are getting paid and the club is getting a Prime Time player.  Win win deal and great for both sides, but specifically for the fans!  Reed was a redzone animal and TD machine in this offense.  The redzone offense should be even more improved.   KC will have more TD's this year and more yards with all these weapons.  Redskins are for real and steppin' past the rest of the NFC East while the 'experts' are picking the same cowPukes for the Super Bowl.  I love it!  I hope romosucks stays healthy and so we can put a stamp on the Division Crown Repeat.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Nah Brave, Desean can't even type the letter "k" anymore, that's how jacced up he was from those concussions, man.

*standing ovation*

That legitimately made me laugh out loud lol

[HTTRDynasty]

Really good article posted yesterday on Reed*:

 

So what does Reed do that made the Redskins decide he was worth keeping long term for a hefty total?  For one, its his hands.  The 6’2″, ~240 lb tight end from the Florida Gators has the best hands the NFL has seen, not just from a tight end, but from any receiver over the last decade.  For any receiver (TE or WR), Reed has the best catch rate in the last 10 years, and its not particularly close:

 

 

 

And these are career numbers, not just 2015 from Kirk Cousins.  It includes over 100 passes from Colt McCoy and Robert Griffin III.  Yet that didn’t matter for Reed. Nor did it matter that due to injuries in 2013 and 2014, he was in and out of the lineup and couldn’t develop real consistency with any QB.  If you notice, most of the top players on the above list had perennial Pro-Bowl and/or Super Bowl-winning QBs throwing them passes:  Jermichael Finley (2nd) and Randall Cobb (4th) from Aaron Rodgers; Jason Witten (3rd) from Tony romoSUCKS; Steve Smith (5th) and Odell Beckham (6th) from Eli Manning; Wes Welker (7th) and Julian Edelman (11th) from Tom Brady and some from Peyton Manning.  Catching 78% of all passes is obscene.  It’s ridiculous.

 

Second, its his importance to what GM Scot McCloughan and HC Jay Gruden envision the passing game heading in the future.  Last year, apart from Cousins, there was no more important player to the Redskins than Jordan Reed.  Teams up at halftime win at an exceptional rate, and the Redskins led at halftime in 11 games.  Only two teams led more often at halftime:  The Panthers and Bengals.  The Redskins 11 games up at halftime tied with the Patriots, Seahawks and Cardinals.  And a big part of the reason for their halftime lead was Jordan Reed.

 

 

On a separate note, I didn't realize we were that good in the 1st half.  It makes our 3rd quarter collapses look even worse.  Hopefully, that gets shored up this year.

 

*There is one error in the article that I saw, naming Scot as the former GM of the Seahawks.  Other than that, great article.