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Washington coach Jay Gruden knows his team is better when Jordan Reed is on the field.

Keeping him there remains the issue.

Via John Keim of ESPN.com, Gruden said that he hopes a recent surgery gets the tight end back on his feet by the start of the season, after he played just six games last year.

Gruden said Reed had a “procedure done on his toes, . . . hopefully we’ll see a 100-percent healthy Jordan by training camp.”

A fractured toe kept him off the field initially, but coming back and trying to compensate for that injury led to leg and hip issues. He hasn’t played a full season since he’s been in the league, though he has been incredibly productive when well.

“Jordan’s a special guy,” Gruden said. “Not many tight ends can do what he can as far as running option routes across the middle and breaking people down and lining up on the outside and beating people deep. He’s a special talent.”

New quarterback Alex Smith has had success in his career working with such talents at tight end, but he needs Reed to be healthy to be able to take advantage of it.