Jordan Reed returns to Redskins’ practice after missing two weeks with injury

ASHBURN — Jordan Reed returned to practice with the Washington Redskins on Tuesday afternoon, acknowledging that he was slow to recover from a strained hamstring because he wanted to reduce his chances of injuring it again.

Reed strained one of his hamstrings on Aug. 10 and missed six days of practice and two preseason games. He has battled persistent leg injuries during his two-plus seasons with the Redskins and strained each hamstring last season.

“I feel 100 percent,” Reed said. “I took my time getting back so I would be all good for the season.”

Reed’s presence in the lineup will be important for the Redskins, who have already lost two other tight ends, Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen, to season-ending injuries. It remains possible that Reed could play in the Redskins’ next preseason game — a road contest against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

A third-round pick out of Florida in 2013, Reed missed seven games as a rookie and five games last year, and at 6-foot-2 and 237 pounds, provides matchup problems as a receiver in the passing game when fully healthy.

“Obviously, you want a guy out there on the field, but we just have to control what we can control, and all he’s done since he’s been here at camp is get better every day,” tight ends coach Wes Phillips said earlier in training camp. “He really has bought into everything that we’ve done. He took care of himself in the offseason. He came in in probably the best shape of his career. It’s the best shape that I’ve seen him in. Injuries happen. We can’t control any of that. We’ve just got to go out there and play hard and continue to improve, and he’s done that.”

Reed doesn’t believe the losses of Paul and Paulsen affect him much, considering the plan had been to use those two players on running downs and utilize Reed more as a receiver.

For that reason, sitting out for the better part of the past two weeks and missing out on the practice time wasn’t a concern.

“I never really felt any pressure at all [to return],” Reed said. “We all had our strengths and weaknesses. Coach puts us in the right position to take advantage of our abilities, so we were all going to be out there an equal amount.”