“Because of the location of the quadriceps, they are often subject to direct blows during football. The severity of Jordan Reed's quad contusion has not been released, but I've seen these injuries to be disabling for some athletes. This type of injury has been known to impact an athlete’s ability to effectively use the leg. Quadriceps contusions can be classified as mild, moderate, and severe. Here are 3 different scenarious for Reed's injury:

Mild injuries result in mild pain and swelling, but the athlete is able to walk without a limp. The athlete is able to bend the knee past 90 degrees (mildly painful, but doable), and can contract the muscle without significant pain.

Moderate muscle contusion results in an increase in bleeding into the muscle tissue and more damage to the actual muscle fibers. The signs and symptoms will be more pronounced including a noticeable limp, more bruising and swelling, and an inability to flex the knee past 90 degrees without significant pain. 

Severe contusions allow for bleeding to actually track down into the knee area and down in to the lower leg and create bruising. Swelling may continue to increase over a 24 hour period resulting in stiffening of the thigh and knee. 

The good news for Reed is that he was able to leave the field under his own power. Given the nature of Reed's position and my observations on the field, my thought is that he may be sidelined for 2 weeks before returning to play.”

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