Commanders' under-the-radar defender is suddenly demanding attention

When starting strong safety Will Harris suffered a fractured fibula in the Washington Commanders’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, it wasn’t immediately obvious who would take his place.

The Commanders, at the time, appeared to have decent secondary depth. Percy Butler had started much of the 2023 season as an injury replacement. Second-year phenom Tyler Owens seemed on the verge of a bigger role. Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. had even more flexibility if he wanted to try a cornerback like Noah Igbinoghene at safety.

He also had Jeremy Reaves, a do-everything defensive back. At first glance, that didn’t seem likely.

Reaves was on the team because he is among the best special teams players in the entire league. First team All-Pro in 2022. But in his previous seven seasons, the undrafted free agent out of South Alabama had started just 11 games on defense. More than half of them came before 2021.

The veteran has backed up a plethora of safeties in Washington. From Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and D.J. Swearinger to Landon Collins and Kamren Curl, Reaves has been a classic depth piece. Last year, it was Jeremy Chinn. This year, it was Harris — until that fractured fibula.

Commanders’ bedrock Jeremy Reaves has worked himself into a prominent role

Reaves is the fourth-longest tenured player on the current roster. He is one of a handful of players who date back to the Jay Gruden regime. Tress Way, Daron Payne, and Terry McLaurin are the others. They provide whatever institutional memory this club currently possesses.

In retrospect, he may have been the obvious choice to take Harris’s spot. Butler is a little bit small for the box safety role. Owens, for all his athletic gifts, is still very raw. Reaves has experience and is known for being an aggressive hitter.

When he initially came up, he provided depth across the secondary. He had played a lot of corner in college and took some reps there early on. But Reaves began focusing on safety after a few seasons.

In 2020 and 2021, he played more than 20 percent of the defensive snaps, but in 2022, he became the special teams leader. Although his role on defense diminished, he was involved in virtually every special teams unit.

The following year, he tore his ACL in Week 5. Though Reaves returned the following season, his days as a contributor on defense appeared over. Indeed, his entire career looked to be in jeopardy.

Entering 2025, Reaves had played just four snaps on defense in the past two seasons. Even his special teams role was being reduced as younger players like Owens and Jordan Magee began to emerge.

Then Harris got hurt, and Dan Quinn turned to his veteran to help stabilize the secondary.

In his three games as a full-time starter, Reaves has racked up 20 tackles. He has made some excellent plays. His coverage skills are decent. He has always been known as a big hitter who can shut down backs and tight ends near the line and rush the passer on occasion.

But he has also missed a disturbing number of tackles. Seven misses in just six games — a missed tackle rate of almost 20%. In more than 700 defensive snaps before this season, he had only been credited with four missed tackles.

That may be why Adam Peters was quick to snatch up veteran safety Darnell Savage Jr. when he became available a few weeks ago.

After getting on the field a handful of times during his first two weeks, Savage played almost half the defensive snaps in Week 6. It is possible that as the season goes on, he will take the starting spot away from Reaves. It could happen as soon as this week.

But it’s hard to imagine it will disturb Reaves too much. He has been through this before.

Even if he loses the starting safety spot, he will still be on the field in various packages and will continue to be a key part of the special teams. Reaves has learned through many years in the NFL that though “starter” is a nice label, being a reliable contributor is what keeps you employed.

He beat the odds by even making an NFL roster as a UDFA back in 2018, and Reaves is still doing it in 2025.