Reed Released by Redskins

Jordan Reed was officially let go by the Washington Redskins on Thursday. There's still a bunch of questions. Where will he play? Who will they sign to replace him. We delve into both.

The Washington Redskins made it official on Thursday afternoon. They've said goodbye to Jordan Reed.

As everyone knows - this has been expected. Strangely, he passed (magically) out of concussion protocol on Wednesday. Amazing how these things work, right? 

I wish both sides would have been able to work out a lower base salary and heavier incentive package structure, but that really wasn't even close to being a possibility on either side from what I know.

It was too easy for the Redskins to move on and clean the slate for not only this year but next year. 

As I mentioned with Chad Dukes on 106.7 The FAN right after his release, there might have been some frustration on Reed's end (understandable) that the Redskins were shopping for his replacement while he was still on the roster, when they pursued Greg Olsen. 

The Redskins have absolutely nothing that they can count on right now at the position, which means of the $63 million in cap space that they now have, a good chunk will have to be invested in free agency. 

A year one cap cost on a multi-year deal for a top level tight end (Austin Hooper?) figures to be between $6-8 million but of course, could be structured lower. 

They have a ton of needs entering free agency. 

Reed's impact was most felt in the red zone. In 2015, Reed's breakout year, Washington was 61.2%. Since then, the Redskins are 45.9% (2016), 54.3% (2017), 52.5% (2018) and 48.8% last year. 

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In other words, without a healthy Reed -- they've been mostly terrible. 

As for where Reed could land - Kyle Shanahan helped to draft him in 2013 but George Kittle is locked in with the NFC Champions.

Sean McVay was a part of that staff and I remember a conversation with McVay that I had before that draft and he identified Travis Kelce and Reed as his two favorite guys at that position. McVay now coaches the Los Angeles Rams, who need to inject life into their offense. 

Tyler Higbee is their starter but Gerald Everett also has raw tools so it wouldn't seem that the Rams are a great option.

Carolina is obviously an option after losing Olsen. Buffalo didn't get Olsen, so that might be a spot. Perhaps Reed will replace Hooper in Atlanta or Eric Ebron in Indianapolis? 

There's other options. Reed will find a home. He's that good when healthy. 

Chris Russell is the Publisher of RedskinsReport.com & Sports Illustrated's Washington Redskins channel. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621.