ASHBURN — When Jordan Reed was called for offensive holding the first time this season — a penalty that wiped out a 14-yard run by Alfred Morris in the opener against the Miami Dolphins — the Washington Redskins’ tight end knew it should have been avoided.
The way Reed explained it, it was difficult for him to get the proper leverage on Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes, who is nearly 50 pounds lighter.
“He’s a quick player and got me off-balance, so I grabbed him,” Reed said then. “I didn’t know he was so light.”
After 11 games, Reed has struggled to correct that issue. He has been called for 10 penalties, nine of which have been accepted, tying him with the New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski for the most flags drawn this season. Of Reed’s 10 penalties, six have been for holding, which mostly occur when Reed is jostling with a defensive back and trying to prevent him from getting to the outside.
It is an ongoing learning process for Reed, who works closely each day at practice with tight ends coach Wes Phillips to improve his technique. Any coach will say penalties are frustrating, but what Reed brings to the passing game as a receiver more than makes up for it. He leads the team with 55 catches for 541 yards and six touchdowns.
“He has been coming along at a good rate,” coach Jay Gruden said. “You love him in the passing game. There are some things he does in the running game — a couple of those calls were ticky-tack, so to speak — but he’s just got to learn to get his hands inside and keep ’em in there and not pull jerseys.”
It sounds like a novel concept, but Reed had trouble with it, especially in Sunday’s 20-14 win against the New York Giants. Before Reed had even caught a pass, he racked up 30 yards in penalties — two holding calls and one for offensive pass interference.
In the first quarter, Reed held free safety Landon Collins, which negated wide receiver Jamison Crowder’s seven-yard gain on an end-around. He was flagged again later in the first quarter when he pulled down cornerback Trevin Wade and erased Morris’ six-yard carry.
During the second quarter, running back Chris Thompson picked up 13 yards on a screen pass, but Reed was called for pass interference when he blocked strong safety Craig Dahl too early.
Reed’s nine accepted penalties — six for holding, three for offensive pass interference — have totaled 89 yards. They have nullified a combined gain of 93 yards.
“It’s a matter of continuing to coach the fundamentals, and Wes is doing a great job of that and teaching him where his hands are and where they need to be and how to finish blocks,” Gruden said. “Those are going to happen from time to time at the tight end position when you’re battling, and a lot of those plays, when they get drawn out and they get bounced outside late and he’s engaged, they might happen from time to time. We just have to keep working with his hands and where to place them and when to let go.”
After Reed committed those three penalties, he caught eight passes for 98 yards. On the Redskins’ final drive, he caught a 20-yard pass on third-and-5, prolonging a series that lasted 4:38. The Giants burned their final two timeouts during the Redskins’ possession and got the ball back with just 19 seconds remaining.
On Reed’s final catch, he identified a mismatch and got wide open with ease. With Dahl in coverage, Reed offered a quick jab step to outside then cut in toward the middle of the field.
By that point in the game, Reed’s three penalties that once felt so consequential were all but forgotten.
“He’s an elite tight end,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “He’s the real deal as a receiver. As long as he’s here, we’ll feature him and try and get him the football because he’s so talented and can be a tough matchup for teams.”
Gruden: Sunday’s injuries of no real concern
Tight end Derek Carrier, cornerback Quinton Dunbar, wide receiver Andre Roberts and running back Chris Thompson are all listed as day to day after sustaining injuries on Sunday.
Carrier has a high ankle sprain and an Achilles sprain, Roberts has knee inflammation, and Thompson sprained the AC joint in one of his shoulders. Gruden said he does not think that Dunbar will need surgery on his left index finger, which was dislocated after he deflected a pass in the third quarter. … The Redskins signed cornerback Jeremy Harris to the practice squad on Monday. He played six games for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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