I Really Hope Jordan Reed Retires And Doesn't Put His Brain/Body Through Even More Trauma

ESPN - Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed, who has suffered multiple concussions during his career and already has been ruled out of Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bears because of his latest one, might not be able to return at all, league sources told ESPN.

There are those within the Redskins organization and around the league who are concerned Reed will not be able to play again, according to sources. Reed will continue to undergo testing, but the player, the team and doctors know what he is up against.

Any player who has suffered the number of concussions that Reed has — it is difficult to pinpoint the exact number — puts himself at grave risk by playing again.

Reed, 29, still would like to resume playing, but it is hardly automatic that he will. The more time that goes on without him coming back, the less likely it is that he will return to a sport in which he has excelled.

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In the preseason Jordan Reed took another nasty hit to the head, resulting in his 7th concussion on the record. I wrote when that happened that even though when healthy he’s a top 5 TE talent in the league, absolutely nobody would blame him if he chose to walk away. He’s been banged up every year, whether from concussions or other ailments, and he deserves to have a life after football. At just 29 years old, he still has time to find something else or transition into coaching. And it couldn’t be more true now. For reference, this is what happened to him after his 3rd concussion:

And now he’s on number seven and it’s possible he won’t even be cleared to play again. It sucks. It really sucks. And what sucks more is he wants to keep playing. He doesn’t want to walk away from the game. And I wish he did. I wish he wanted to call it a career and find something new that he’s passionate about. Concussions and injuries robbed him of his football career, but it doesn’t mean there’s not more out there for him. It just cannot be worth it for him to keep putting his brain on the line like this. He’s made some money, and I’m sure he has some memories that he wants to keep. Why jeopardize it any more? Especially playing for the Redskins! I get it’s what he loves, but man, sometimes you gotta make the hard but right decision. I get he’s a grown man and I can’t say what the “right decision” is for him, but as a fan of his on a human level, I hope he makes the choice to move on. And again, not a single soul would disagree with that decision.