Jordan Reed is a rookie on the rise. The tight end put up on his best Tony Gonzalez impersonation last Sunday, leaving the Washington Redskins with little need for Fred Davis. Working off another one-year contract, Davis' future in Washington has never been guaranteed. With the NFL trade deadline just a week away, the Redskins are officially placing the veteran on the market.
Davis is in his third-consecutive contract season with Washington. The tight end has only managed to earn one-year contracts for the last few years as injuries and suspensions racked up. NFL Insider Ian Rapoport is reporting that Davis is officially available for a trade. Reed is now on of Robert Griffin III's favorite targets and Davis is on the outside looking in. Davis was inactive against the Chicago Bears while Reed put up 134 yards on nine catches. Mike Shanahan claims injuries are the issue.
"Fred's been down because he's been hurt in the past and now it's based on who practices the best, just like we talked about Jordan getting the opportunity to play a lot more because of what he's done during the week," Shanahan said, via the Washington Post. "Sometimes when a guy gets hurt, then a guy gets an opportunity to play, he takes advantage of it. Or another scenario is we dress three tight ends out this week. One of the reasons we did is we felt we had to bring a guy like [safety Trenton] Robinson up so he can help us on special teams.... You're always going to try to do what's best for your football team that week. And that's what we try to do."
It is unclear exactly what teams may be interested in Davis. He certainly will not attract any sort of long-term commitment from teams, but several playoff contenders might be interested in the addition of another offensive weapon. The Kansas City Chiefs seem highly likely to at least take a glance. The team is currently undefeated and had considered making a run for Tony Gonzalez. However, Davis is an extreme downgrade from Gonzalez.
The Green Bay Packers could be another option. The team continues to get hit with the injury bug as Aaron Rodgers is clearly struggling with the current options he has. The NFL Network notes the Baltimore Ravens might be another choice. Again, they are a team struggling with lack of depth on the offense.
Any team that takes a look at Davis will get him for very cheap. He is coming off a year when he had a torn Achilles and the year before he was suspended for four games after violating the league's substance abuse policy. A late draft pick or even money will land the tight end.
