Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden has revealed that he held wide receiver DeSean Jackson out of his side's practice session on Saturday.

The Redskins are set to compete with the New England Patriots in joint sessions next week before their pre-season clash on Thursday.

Gruden has admitted that he wanted to keep Jackson fresh for those practices after a hard start to training camp.

He told reporters: "We held DeSean out. He had a little soreness in his legs. Just trying to keep him fresh. He's been running a lot."

Jackson signed for the club during the off-season following his release by Philadelphia Eagles.