Re-signing Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves was a surefire public relations success for the team and its new regime.
As much as fans wanted to see safety Kamren Curl come back, Commanders fans are just as connected and invested in All-Pro special teamer, safety, and 2023 team captain Jeremy Reaves.
Reaves worked his way into the hearts and minds of Washington fans while surviving multiple staff changes because of his tenacity, hard work, and leadership role whether he was featured on the field or not.
Something he discussed when he was named team captain for the first time in his career, last season.
"I've always felt this way about myself," Reaves said about being recognized as a leader on the team. "Even before I was on the 53 (in 2022) I've had this mentality my whole career."
With general manager Adam Peters, coach Dan Quinn, and a near complete change of the coaching staff, leadership has been a big topic of conversation. A topic Reaves is well versed in.
And he says his early impressions of the new guys in the building have been positive.
"Real deal," Reaves responded when asked about the new staff in the building. "Yeah, they're not wasting any time...They were telling me, look, this is what we're trying to do and we're trying to go win at the end of the day and we're going to do it the right way. And so I was all for it. The moves that they make kind of speak for themselves, they're not joking around."
When teams are winning it's all smiles. Peters, Quinn, and the Commanders are certainly winning this offseason, so a lot of the associated pictures and videos feature big smiles.
But that doesn't mean those smiling faces aren't about their business, and putting in the work to make winning a part of the company bio - rather than a mission statement.
So it's no surprise that Reaves and new special teams coordinator Larry Izzo have already had some initial discussions as to the style of play expected on the field this season.
"He gave me a shout and just talked to me and he was like, look man, I don't want you to change anything about you," Reaves said of his encounter with coach Izzo. "I want you to do what you do. And that's all I'm asking of you...You just go run out there and you go be Revo. And that's what I plan to do. He's kind of just letting the chains off me and let me just go play football fast and that's what I like to do."
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