JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Redskins nose tackle Barry Cofield and tight end Jordan Reed could be sidelined for multiple weeks with injuries from the season opening loss to the Houston Texans.
Coach Jay Gruden on Monday did not sound optimistic about a quick return for either player. He said he expects a definitive timetable once he gets the MRI results.
“It’ll probably a week or two or three, or … we’ll see,” Gruden said.
Cofield left in the second quarter of Sunday’s 17-6 defeat with a high right ankle sprain. Reed strained his left hamstring on a 4-yard reception late in the first quarter.
High ankle sprains usually require several weeks of recovery, while hamstring injuries are notoriously unpredictable.
“We want to find out the severity of Jordan’s injury before we go crazy,” Gruden said. “Hopefully it’s not as long as we are dreading.”
The Redskins are thin at both positions. Backup nose tackle Chris Neild is out for the season with a knee injury, so Chris Baker will likely move from defensive end to take Cofield’s spot.
Reed’s absence would leave two healthy tight ends on the roster: Logan Paulsen and Niles Paul. The team will work out free agents this week, although Gruden said: “If we have to play with two, we will.”
While Cofield has proved durable throughout his career — he hasn’t missed a game since 2008 — second-year player Reed has been particularly injury-prone in his young career. This will be the eighth time he has been sidelined due to various injuries or illness in the 17 months since he was drafted.
Nevertheless, the Redskins were expecting big things from him after his 45 catches in nine games last season.
“When he goes out after the seventh play of offense, it hurts you a little bit,” Gruden said. “He was a major part of the game plan.”
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