ASHBURN - Both Trent Williams and Jordan Reed sat out the Redskins first preseason game last Thursday in Atlanta, and it seems doubtful either will suit up Friday night against the Jets. Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay explained that there is not much long-term concern with either player, though the team is just being smart.

"A lot of it is Coach Gruden is going to ultimately make those decisions, just being precautious with some of our elite players," McVay said Thursday, speaking after an event to connect high school coaches with the Redskins staff.

McVay explained that Reed is further along than Williams, but both players are progressing well.

"We feel like those guys are doing a great job with the rehab process," McVay said. "Trent is a little bit different than Jordan, where Jordan has practiced pretty regularly, he hasn’t missed much time at all."

At Wednesday's practice, Reed took part in individual drills and made one of the more impressive plays all camp. With DeAngelo Hall draped all over him in near perfect coverage, Kirk Cousins dropped a deep ball just over Reed's shoulder. The tight end jumped for the ball, bringing it in as he fell to the end zone for what would have been a touchdown. Up and down the sideline, folks remarked that there was little else Hall could do, that is just the player Reed has become.

Though Reed sat out most of Wednesday's team drills, like McVay said, he has not missed much of training camp. Trent Williams, however, has, including a few full practices while the team was in Richmond.

"Trent has done a great job with his rehab. When you watch him move around in individual periods you wouldn’t notice that he had anything wrong with him," McVay said. "If it continues to carry on it becomes a little bit more of a concern but I feel very confident that he’s going to be back out on the practice field pretty shortly."

A player like Williams knows his body best, and knows that it needs to be ready for September 12th, not August 19th. McVay's comments echo Gruden's from Wednesday, when the coach said the organization is holding back the left tackle and the coach expects Williams back very soon.

What is undeniable is McVay's assertion that the team is taking care of their "elite" players. Williams has been named to the Pro Bowl the last four seasons, and Reed broke most Redskins tight end records last season before a contract extension worth nearly $50 million this offseason.