Jeremy Reaves

Jeremy Reaves

Reaves with the Washington Football Team in 2020
No. 39 – Washington Commanders
Position:	Safety special teamer
Personal information
Born:	(1996-08-29) August 29, 1996 (age 28) Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:	Pensacola Catholic (Pensacola)
College:	South Alabama (2014–2017)
Undrafted:	2018
Career history
Philadelphia Eagles (2018)* Washington Redskins / Football Team / Commanders (2018–present)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-Pro (2022) Pro Bowl (2022) Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year (2017) 2× First-team All-Sun Belt (2016, 2017) Second-team All-Sun Belt (2015)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2024
Tackles: 128 Sacks: 1 Forced fumbles: 1 Pass deflections: 5 Interceptions: 1 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jeremy Antoine Reaves (born August 29, 1996) is an American professional football safety and special teamer for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Alabama Jaguars, where he was named the 2017 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year.

Reaves signed with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2018 before joining Washington later that year. He received first-team All-Pro honors in 2022 for his special teams play after spending the majority of his early career on the practice squad.

Early life

Reaves was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida and attended Pensacola Catholic High School, where he played both baseball and football. He originally played running back for the Crusaders before his coach moved him to defensive back after his sophomore year. He was named first-team all-area as a junior and honorable mention All-State as a senior after recording 39 tackles and five interceptions despite missing an extended period of time because of vertebrae fractures.^[1]

College career

Reaves played four seasons for the South Alabama Jaguars, playing cornerback his first three years before moving to safety going into his senior season.^[2] He was named second-team All-Sun Belt Conference as a sophomore, his first season as a starter, after making 96 tackles (2nd highest on the team), eight for a loss, and leading the team with six passes broken up and tying for the team lead with two interceptions and three forced fumbles.^[3] In his junior season Reaves was named first-team All-Sun Belt after making 85 tackles (5.5 for loss) and again led the team with seven pass breakups and was second on the team with three interceptions.^[4] As a senior, Reaves recorded 104 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three interceptions and three forced fumbles and was named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Reaves finished his collegiate career with 301 tackles, eight interceptions, 22 passes defensed, and eight forced fumbles.^[5] His performance earned him an invitation to the 2018 Senior Bowl, where he made eight tackles and an interception.^[6]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
5 ft 10+3⁄4 in (1.80 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	30+3⁄8 in (0.77 m)	7+3⁄4 in (0.20 m)	4.66 s	1.62 s	2.65 s	4.48 s	7.44 s	31.0 in (0.79 m)	9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)	18 reps
All values from Pro Day[7][8]

Philadelphia Eagles

Reaves signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2018.^[9] He was waived by the Eagles on September 1, 2018.^[10]

Washington Redskins / Football Team / Commanders

Reaves with Washington in 2021

Reaves was signed to the practice squad of the Washington Redskins on September 12, 2018.^[11] He was promoted to the Redskins' active roster on December 19, 2018.^[12] He made his NFL debut on December 22, 2018 against the Tennessee Titans.^[13]

Reaves was waived on August 31, 2019, but was signed to the practice squad the following day.^[14][15] He was promoted to the active roster on October 12, 2019.^[16] Reaves made his first career start on October 24, 2019 against the Minnesota Vikings, making three tackles before leaving the game due to a concussion.^[17] In 2019, Reaves finished the season with 15 tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass defended in nine games played (three starts).^[18]

On September 5, 2020, Reaves was waived and signed to their practice squad the following day.^[19][20] He was promoted back to the active roster following a season ending injury to Landon Collins on October 27.^[21] In Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, Reaves recorded his first career sack on Andy Dalton during the 41–16 win.^[22] In Week 17 against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football, Reaves recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Nate Sudfeld during the 20–14 win.^[23]

Reaves was released on August 31, 2021,^[24] but re-signed to the practice squad the following day.^[25] On December 11, he was activated to the active roster as a COVID-19 replacement player.^[26] The team signed him to the active roster on January 8, 2022.^[27]

Reaves made the Commanders' 53-man roster out of training camp in 2022, the first time in his career that he had done so after being a final cut in each of his previous four NFL seasons.^[28] In December 2022, Reaves was voted in his first Pro Bowl as the special teams starter of the 2023 Pro Bowl.^[29] In January 2023, Reeves was named first-team All-Pro.^[30]

On March 15, 2023, the Commanders placed a tender on Reaves, which he signed a month later.^[31][32] On October 10, 2023, he was placed on injured reserve for a partially torn ACL.^[33][34]

On March 13, 2024, Reaves re-signed with the Commanders on a two-year contract.^[35]

Personal life

Reaves proposed to his girlfriend, Mikaela Worley, on December 29, 2024 on the field of Northwest Stadium after a victory against the Atlanta Falcons.^[36]

References

1. Stephenson, Creg (November 9, 2017). "Jeremy Reaves: From 'No YAC' to bad back to one of South Alabama's all-time greats". AL.com. Advance Media Southeast. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
2. Kulp, Andrew (May 15, 2018). "Jeremy Reaves went undrafted but has chance to make Eagles". NBCSports.com. NBC Sports Philadelphia. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
3. Adcock, Jeremy (December 9, 2015). "A Bowl Just Out Of Reach: A Season Review Of South Alabama Football". UnderdogDynasty.com. SB Nation. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
4. Stephenson, Creg (December 6, 2018). "South Alabama's Jeremy Reaves named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year". AL.com. Advance Media Southeast. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
5. Shavatt, Russell (August 11, 2019). "Redskins FS Jeremy Reaves makes roster decision at safety interesting". RiggosRag.com. FanSided. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
6. Stephenson, Creg (April 28, 2018). "South Alabama's Jeremy Reaves not selected in 2018 NFL draft; headed to Eagles as free agent". AL.com. Advance Media Southeast. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
7. "2018 NFL Draft Scout Jeremy Reaves College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
8. "South Alabama's Jeremy Reaves used NFL combine snub as motivation for Pro Day". al.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
9. Davenport, Turron (April 28, 2018). "Eagles 2018 undrafted free agent tracker". Eagles Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
10. Berman, Zach (September 1, 2018). "Eagles set 53-man roster, release Steven Means, waive Donnel Pumphrey, and keep Josh Perkins on cut-down day". Philly.com. Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
11. Wallace, Eric (September 12, 2018). "Catholic's Jeremy Reaves signs with Washington Redskins practice squad". Pensacola News Journal. USA Today. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
12. Williams, Charean (December 19, 2018). "Washington places Danny Johnson on IR, promotes Jeremy Reaves". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
13. Inabinett, Mark (December 23, 2018). "Titans, Ravens win in Saturday's NFL games". AL.com. Advance Media Southeast. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
14. "Redskins Make Roster Moves". Redskins.com. August 31, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
15. "Redskins Sign Nine Players To Practice Squad". Redskins.com. September 1, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
16. "Redskins Place TE Jordan Reed On IR; Promote S Jeremy Reaves From Practice Squad". Redskins.com. October 12, 2019.
17. Inabinett, Mark (October 24, 2019). "8 Alabama alumni play in NFL's Thursday night game". AL.com. Advance Media Southeast. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
18. Inabinett, Mark (February 18, 2020). "Alabama Roots: 154 NFL players in the 2019 season". AL.com. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
19. "Washington Football Team Reduces Roster To 53 Players". WashingtonFootball.com. September 5, 2020.
20. "Washington Football Team Signs 13 Players To Its Practice Squad". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
21. Jennings, Scott. "Washington Roster Moves: Landon Collins to IR, getting Achilles surgery Monday; Jeremy Reaves signed". Hogs Haven. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
22. "Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys - November 26th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
23. "Washington Football Team at Philadelphia Eagles - January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
24. Washington Football Team Public Relations (August 31, 2021). "Washington Makes Multiple Roster Moves". WashingtonFootball.com. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
25. Washington Football Team Public Relations. "Washington Signs 15 Players To Practice Squad". WashingtonFootball.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
26. Washington Football Team Public Relations (December 11, 2021). "Washington places Wes Schweitzer on Injured Reserve amid multiple roster moves". WashingtonFootball.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
27. Washington Football Team Public Relations (January 8, 2022). "Washington makes multiple roster moves ahead of season finale". WashingtonFootball.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
28. Hailey, Peter (August 31, 2022). "'It wasn't given': Reaves reflects on making Commanders roster". NBC Sports Washington. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
29. Washington Commanders Public Relations (December 21, 2022). "Jonathan Allen, Tress Way, Jeremy Reaves and Terry McLaurin named to 2023 Pro Bowl". Commanders.com. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
30. Selby, Zach (January 13, 2023). "Jeremy Reaves named AP First Team All-Pro". Commanders.com. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
31. Selby, Zach (March 15, 2023). "Commanders tender Jeremy Reaves, release J.D. McKissic". Commanders.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
32. Selby, Zach (April 17, 2023). "Commanders re-sign S Jeremy Reaves". Commanders.com. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
33. Selby, Zach (October 10, 2023). "Commanders place Darrick Forrest, Jeremy Reaves on IR among multiple roster moves". Commanders.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
34. Manning, Bryan (October 10, 2023). "Commanders fear Jeremy Reaves could be lost for the season". USAToday.com. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
35. Alper, Josh (March 13, 2024). "Commanders re-sign Jeremy Reaves". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
36. Rasmussen, Karll (December 29, 2024). "Commanders DB Jeremy Reaves Proposes to Girlfriend on Field After OT Win vs. Falcons". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 30, 2024.

External links

• Washington Commanders bio
• South Alabama Jaguars bio