The San Francisco 49ers added yet another talented offensive weapon this offseason, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday that they had agreed to terms with former Washington tight end Jordan Reed. Schefter reports that it will be an incentive-laden one-year deal -- as the 49ers want to see if the 30-year-old can bounce back after suffering several concussions which led to his release in Washington.
Reed played in just one preseason game for Washington last season and suffered a concussion that knocked him out for the entire 2019 season and kept him in concussion protocol for six months. Washington had to wait for him to clear concussion protocol earlier this offseason before they were allowed to release him. Reed was drafted by Washington in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. In his third NFL season back in 2015, he caught 87 passes for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was expected to be the next star tight end in the NFL, but injuries held him back. The former University of Florida star never played a full 16-game season, and he has dealt with several head injuries during his time in the league. In 65 career games, Reed has caught 329 passes for 3,371 yards and 24 touchdowns.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan served as Reed's offensive coordinator during his rookie season, so Shanahan knows what the former Pro Bowler is capable of. With superstar tight end George Kittle on its roster, San Francisco was not in desperate need of another tight end, but Reed could serve as the perfect No. 2 and adds just another capable target for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to work with.
The 49ers are currently trying to work towards a long-term contract extension with Kittle that will likely make him the highest-paid tight end in the league. The 26-year-old is coming off of back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and was named first-team All-Pro for the first time in 2019. He was a big reason the 49ers had the fourth-best offense in terms of yards per game last season, and adding Reed to the passing game could help them maintain that level of success.
