Before he became the NFL’s All-Pro special-teamer for the 2022 season, Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves got cut before the regular season kicked off annually from 2018 through 2021.

Ron Rivera was among the coaches who cut the former South Alabama standout. But when the Commanders fired Rivera on Monday, Reaves was sorry to see him go.

“It was a blessing, man,” Reaves said of his four seasons with Rivera. “I went through a lot of tough days here. I probably had more tougher days than better days, and he’s been there. I lost my mom. I’ve been cut 15-hundred times. I’ve been through everything that you can possibly imagine, and he’s been there.

“The hard part about it is this business is about win and losses, but he doesn’t get credit enough for the man he was and is. What he’s been through, what he’s had to weather along with cancer and COVID and ownership changes, the whole nine yards, and he’s showed up every day. It inspired me, despite what I was going through in my life, to continue to show up every day.”

The new ownership of the Commanders parted ways with Rivera after a 4-13 showing in 2023 dropped his record in Washington to 26-49-1. In addition to the sale of the team, Rivera was on hand as Washington used three team names and eight starting quarterbacks while he battled through squamous cell carcinoma.

“Yeah, we might have had disagreements about the cuts,” Reaves said, “and I felt like I was ready. But it happened when it was supposed to. At the end of the day, he gave me my opportunity, and I’m forever grateful for that. I owe that man a lot.”

The Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year at South Alabama in 2017, Reaves entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie and played in 25 regular-season games in his first four seasons. But Reaves played in every game for Washington in 2022, when he was on the field for 149 defensive snaps and 374 special-teams plays.

Reaves was chosen by his teammates as a captain for the Commanders before the 2023 season started. But Reaves sustained a knee injury during Washington’s 40-20 loss to the Chicago Bears on Oct. 5, and he spent the rest of the season on injured reserve.

Reaves’ injury was just one of the things that went wrong for the Commanders in 2023.

“Sometimes things just don’t go your way,” Reaves said. “The hard part about the business is that you have expectations of what you want a year to be, and you work your ass off in the offseason and sometimes the (expletive) just doesn’t go well. I had goals of being something this year, and it just didn’t work out. I got hurt. The one time in my career I’ve ever been hurt. Sometimes that’s just life. Sometimes things go left when you want them to go right.

“It’s unfortunate because this business is about winning, and that’s what people want. That’s what we want. I want to win. I’ve weathered a lot of storms here, and I want to be a winner. That’s part of playing this game; you love to win. And so I think it was just one of those years that it’s just tough and nothing really just clicked. It seemed like one thing after another.”

Reaves wants to be ready to go when the offseason program begins for the 2024 campaign.

“My focus has been 100 percent on just rehabbing,” Reaves said. “… I’m a month ahead of schedule where I was at. I’ve been grinding it out every day. Just thankful for the grind of it. You get over one hump, you climb up one mountain, and then I kind of got knocked back down and had to climb up again. That’s the beauty of it, that’s the journey, and so I’m just taking it day-to-day, enjoying the process of it.”

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

This offseason, Reaves will become an unrestricted free agent in March if he doesn’t sign a contract extension with the Commanders.

“My career started in Philly, but I really feel like this became my home here,” Reaves said. “I would love to be here. I love my teammates. I know this is going to look night-and-day different next year, and I wish the best for all these guys, but I’ve had a lot of prayer and thoughts about it, and I would love to be here.

“But I also know how the business works, and I’ve waited a long time to get my share, and so we’ll see how that goes, but I’m hoping it’s here.”

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