Jordan Reed missed the final six games of the 2013 season with a concussion and subsequent lingering symptoms from the trauma.
The Washington Redskins' 23-year-old tight end admitted to The SportsXchange that he believes he suffered a concussion before the one against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 that ended his season -- but he didn't tell anybody.
"I think I had had a concussion two weeks before, but I didn't tell nobody so when I took a shot to the side of my head against the Eagles it made it worse," Reed said. "I was in a bad spot for a long time. I didn't know if they would ever go away, but I'm past it now."
That Reed's initial concussion went unnoticed and unreported by the player should be troubling for the Redskins -- even if it isn't a rarity among players.
It's a positive that Reed says the symptoms have subsided. The 6-foot-2, 243-pound tight end showed flashes of being a dynamic playmaker in the passing game during his nine-game stint.
However, Reed will have the concussion issue hanging over his head in 2014. He said last week that his latest concussion was "a fluke thing" and he didn't believe it was something he'd have to deal with throughout his career.
In reality, Reed's 2013 concussions were his third and fourth -- that we are aware of -- after he suffered two while in college at the University of Florida.
Reed's symptoms from his November concussion included headaches, nausea and an inability to sleep, per The Washington Times.
"I started to get a little scared after about two months -- like, 'Maybe I'm going to be like this forever,' or something like that," Reed said. "But it ended up going away."
The symptoms might have gone away, but, as we've seen with other NFL players, concussions can pile up and abruptly end a once-promising career. Let's hope Reed is right and his latest concussion is his last.
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