Washington Football Team: Five players to watch in Week 15

No. 5 – S Jeremy Reaves

Earlier this week, the Washington Football Team placed Deshazor Everett on injured reserve. Everett was the replacement for Troy Apke at free safety, so now Washington will need a replacement for their replacement.

Of course, this isn’t necessarily a sign of depreciation. Everett was handily better than Apke, and one could argue that Kamren Curl has been a more steady presence than Landon Collins across from him. If the trend of replacements playing better than their predecessors continues at safety, then fans should be moderately excited about Jeremy Reaves‘ chances.

Reaves, a former undrafted free agent, is in his third season with the Washington Football Team. He could have been cut loose when Ron Rivera’s regime came in, but Rivera chose to retain Reaves within the organization, and after cut day, Reaves was again retained on the team’s practice squad.

Reaves was ultimately promoted when Collins was lost to a season-ending injury, and in brief spurts of defensive action, Reaves has legitimately flashed. Against Dallas, Reaves had a sack and a tackle for loss, and in the team’s recent win over the 49ers, Reaves had six total tackles and a pass deflection, while playing just 41% of the defensive snaps.

While he’s a below-average athlete at the safety position, Reaves has plus instincts and good play speed, and he clearly has a chip on his shoulder. He’ll get to put those traits on display in what will be his first start since 2019. And against a high-octane Seahawks passing offense, the pressure will no doubt be turned up.