The Redskins' tight end suffered a Grade 3 AC joint separation in his left shoulder Thursday against the Cowboys, which makes his status for next Sunday uncertain.
Redskins tight end Jordan Reed suffered a Grade 3 AC joint separation on his left shoulder, according to head coach Jay Gruden on an appearance with ESPN 980 on Friday, during the team's 31-26 loss to the Cowboys.
Reed, the team's leading receiver, suffered the injury at the beginning of the second quarter when he was pushed to the ground by a Cowboys defender after jumping for a pass thrown out of the back of the end zone. He was in pain as he changed into his clothes after the game and left the locker room with a sling on his left arm.
The tight end underwent an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of the injury before Gruden received the results. It remains unclear what Reed's status will be for practice this week prior to the team's next game against the Cardinals. "There is something there that we have to deal with," Gruden said.
Reed did not participate in the team's practice on Monday, watching from the side of the field, and told reporters that his chances to play on Sunday will monitored day by day this week. His range of motion is around 30 percent, he said, and he will have to likely play through some form of pain the remainder of the season.
"Just gotta ice it, keep the range of motion up, keep the mobility going," Reed said. "Don't rest it too much because of the pain and try to get through it a little bit."
Reed displayed heroics on Thursday playing through the separation, which he said was not worsened by returning to the game. After coming back in the second half, the 6-foot-2, 246-pounder collected eight passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the red zone.
Through nine games this season, Reed has caught 59 passes for 630 yards to go along with five touchdowns. He collected the longest pass play of the season against the Cowboys, a 33-yard one-handed diving grab that would set up a touchdown two plays later.
The offensive line also took a beating as Brandon Scherff, who worked off to the side on Monday, sprained his ankle while Shawn Lauvao sprained his wrist, but, like Reed, both returned to the game.
"I didn't think he'd come back in but Jordan, he came back in and made some gigantic plays for us," Gruden said after Thursday's game. "It just goes to show you what type of man he's growing into, and football player, and person. It was an impressive performance by him and, like I said, Brandon Scherff, also, and Ty, and Morgan Moses and a couple of other guys on our team that fought through some injuries and played. But that's pro football, and we appreciate their effort, and we're going to be a better team in the long run because of guys like him."
Thursday's contest wrapped up a stretch of three games in 11 days, which tested the team's strength and stamina, especially between the Packers and Cowboys games. Washington heads to Phoenix on Friday to take on the Cardinals.
"If I go out there I just got to make sure it's ready to go," Reed said. "They're not going to try and put me out there unless I got strength in my arm and I can move it and things like that. If I'm able to do that I'm going to play, if not then I can't play."
