Commanders’ Jeremy Reaves tweets inspiring message before roster deadline

Every fan base has a soft spot for a certain player. For whatever reason — their playing style, background story, or just how they handle themselves as a pro — every fan base has that one player. When it comes to the Washington Commanders, it’s fair to say that player is Jeremy Reaves.

A former undrafted free agent who signed with the Eagles as a rookie, Reaves caught on with Washington after Philly released him during the preseason and has spent parts of the last four seasons with the franchise.

It’s been a turbulent start to Reaves’ career, to say the least. He’s been released by the Commanders four times and has bounced around the practice squad and active roster for most of those four seasons. Once again, the hard-hitting safety enters the final week of preseason unsure of his roster security.

You’d think a bubble player like Reaves would be nervous leading up to Tuesday’s all-important deadline, but that’s anything but the case.

After showing out in Washington’s final preseason game, Reaves’ first order of business was watching tape on the Jaguars. Forget being nervous, Reaves is oozing confidence ahead of the roster deadline.

On Monday, Reaves celebrated his 26th birthday and reflected on his adversity-filled NFL journey in a tweet that any athlete could look to for inspiration.

Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves is already a winner.

It is simply impossible to not root for Reaves.

It’s been tough-sledding for the South Alabama product in terms of finding a consistent role on Washington over the years but you wouldn’t know it.

Last year, however, might’ve been Reaves’ most difficult to date. Not only was he cut and demoted to the practice squad after he played an impactful role for the team in 2020, which was capped by a 10-tackle performance in the hard-fought playoff loss to Tampa Bay, but his mother passed away.

While addressing the media last week, Reaves explained how staying with the Commanders and playing football helped him cope with the loss.

"“Yeah, it was. It was probably the best thing for me, honestly, you know, everybody was like, you need to take time. You need to. Coach [Ron Rivera] was like if you need time, give you time,” Reaves said.“. . . I still have my days, you know, some days where I cry, I laugh, I think of things, but I always know that she’s with me. So, I’ve taken that and applied that to everything in life. These guys, this building, the staff, my teammates, I mean, without them, I don’t know what last year would’ve been like for me, honestly. They were fundamental of me getting through that. It was the most support that I’ve ever received in my life.”"

Here’s the video of a grateful Reaves.

A hell of a guy sums up Reaves in a nutshell. What was that we were saying about fans having a soft spot for Reaves? The newly-minted 26-year-old faces (somewhat) long odds to make Washington’s final roster, but he’s done nothing on the field to suggest he isn’t deserving of a spot on the 53-man product.

If the Commanders end up keeping five safeties, Reaves is without question the favorite over Steven Parker, who’s already been released, and Ferrod Gardner.

Even if Reaves is cut for the sixth time and winds up back on the practice squad, fans can expect him to give 110% on every snap. And given how the last four seasons have played out, he’ll probably find his way to the active roster on several occasions throughout the grueling 17-game slate.

Based on the latest roster buzz, it seems like Reaves’ spot is secure.

Editor’s note: This article was written before it was reported Brian Robinson was the victim of a shooting during a robbery attempt. Robinson is out of surgery, in good spirits and  expected to make a full recovery.