Washington safety Jeremy Reaves is headed for injured reserve, Commanders coach Ron Rivera said on Monday.

Reaves sustained a knee injury during Washington’s 40-20 loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.

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Rivera said Reaves and starting safety Darrick Forrest, who has a shoulder injury, would be placed on injured reserve “pending further examination.” A player on injured reserve must miss at least four weeks. Rivera said the Commanders didn’t know how long the players would be sidelined but would have a better idea after further tests.

Reaves was the special-teamer on the NFC Pro Bowl team and the first-team All-Pro special-teamer for the 2022 season.

“That’s a big blow for us,” Rivera said of losing Reaves.

The Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year at South Alabama in 2017, Reaves was released five times after entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie before he made a regular-season roster coming out of the preseason in 2022.

After playing in 25 regular-season games in his first four NFL seasons, Reaves played in every game for Washington in 2022, when he was on the field for 149 defensive snaps and 374 special-teams plays.

Washington placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on the all-star when he became a restricted free agent in March, and Reaves signed the $2.627 million contract for the 2023 season in April.

Reaves was chosen by his teammates as a captain for the Commanders before the 2023 season started.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.