Jeremy Reaves: Perseverance, Personified
December 28, 2022
by Steve Thomas
If you are one of the few who haven’t already seen the video of Washington head coach Ron Rivera informing safety and special teamer extraordinaire Jeremy Reaves of his selection as a Pro Bowl starter last week, watch this:
get your tissues ready ????watch @RiverboatRonHC tell the guys they made the Pro Bowl pic.twitter.com/7rpj99EIkZ— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) December 22, 2022

Congratulations to all of the selectees, but it was Reaves who really stood out in this video. Tress Way was a bit surprised, but he was selected in 2019, so it wasn’t that much of a shock to him. Jonathan Allen was happy but admitted that he was expecting it. Terry McLaurin is a humble guy, generally, and he was appreciative of his first selection, but not overly shocked either. Reaves, on the other hand, had a visceral, emotional reaction to the news. It was really nice to see the moment at which all of a player’s hard work, struggles, challenges, and effort succeeded.
In case you weren’t aware, Reaves has been through some hard times, more than many NFL players, dating back to high school in Pensacola, Florida. Reaves, who was a running back for his first two years before transitioning to corner, fractured his L5 and L6 vertebrae in the second game of his junior season. The injury caused him to miss the bulk of the season and also caused most college recruiters to stop considering him for scholarship opportunities.
Only one school, Reaves’ ultimate alma mater, South Alabama, stuck with him in the recruiting process in spite of the injury. The South Alabama coaching staff moved him to safety for his senior season, and that’s the move that put him into position to win the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award. Despite that success, though, Reaves was viewed as too small and too slow for the safety position in the NFL and went undrafted in 2018.
Therefore, Reaves then signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent, but was waived in final roster cuts. The Redskins – then coached by Jay Gruden – signed him to the practice squad, and it was at this point that the fun really began. This is his complete history with the Redskins Washington Football Team Commanders Washington:
Jeremy Reaves, Pro Bowl Player: 💪 pic.twitter.com/z4jUb1VV7q— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) December 22, 2022

That’s an almost unbelievable timeline. Washington waived him three separate times, and he had 9 different tenures with Washington’s practice squad and spent time with the active roster on 7 occasions over 4 years. This season was the first time he made the active roster coming out of training camp, and he’s flourished in his role as safety and special teams leader. Plus, disaster struck in November, 2021, when his mother unexpectedly passed away. Through all of that turmoil, Reaves persevered, and now, here we are: Pro Bowl 2023.
Many players wouldn’t have continued with football under those circumstances. Reaves’ story is a classic tale of someone who rose up from the absolute bottom of the NFL football hierarchy and had the mental fortitude to continue on despite all odds. The whole tale sounds like a bad Disney movie (and there are quite a few of those nowdays), but we could all learn a thing or two from Reaves. If you know what you want, just keep going in the face of hardship. Obstacles and tough times will come – that’s life – but, as Reaves showed, the key is to just keep moving forward. Things may not always work out, but sometimes failure brings new opportunity. Reaves story is inspiring and, for me at least, brought back at least a small, tiny bit of sympathy for this “challenged” franchise.
I don’t want to drone on and on about this, so I’ll stop here. You get the point. These are the kinds of stories that we all live for. Congratulations to Reaves on making his first Pro Bowl, and we all look forward to watching him play for years to come.