Daily News | Abington’s Craig Reynolds made an incredible NFL climb — and carried his brother’s broken dream with him
A day after Craig Reynolds rushed for 83 yards last December in his first extended NFL action, he took out his iPhone and fired off a 206-character tweet to summarize the journey it took him to get there.
His tweet summed it all up: under-recruited, undrafted, practice squad, and waived by four teams in two years. Reynolds refused to be denied. “He was a beast,” said his father, Eric Sr., who was a bruising running back at Abington High before having a Hall of Fame career at Del-Val College. As a senior, Reynolds threw a touchdown pass, caught two touchdowns, returned a kick for a score, and rushed for 34 TDs while averaging 10.9 yards per carry. He had a touchdown run of at least 40 yards in every game of his senior year. Reynolds did it all, even signing autographs for kids after games.
Reynolds was the varsity’s starting running back by his junior season, proving he belonged. He rushed for 2,104 yards as a senior and scored 31 touchdowns but did not have any Division I offers. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. He was arrested in August of 2008 in Warwick, pleaded guilty to harassment charges and was sentenced to probation. His college career was over before the start of his first semester.
Washington head coach Jay Gruden stumbled upon Reynolds’ college highlights while browsing the internet in search of players to fill out the team’s rookie mini-camp roster. They had their draft picks and undrafted free-agents but they needed more bodies to run drills.He was playing video games when his agent told him to head to Washington. He instructed Reynolds to report in a shirt and tie, hoping it would help the D-II longshot stand out in a room full of hooded sweatshirts.
Reynolds spent 2020 with Jacksonville, appeared in two games, recorded his first NFL carry in a 24-point loss in Week 16, and was waived last March. Reynolds rushed home, grabbed a bag, and was on I-95 just in time to sit in rush-hour traffic. He missed his flight to Detroit and was placed on a flight that connected through Charlotte. That flight was delayed by rain so Reynolds missed his connector and had to spend the night at the Charlotte airport.
Reynolds rushed for 49 yards on six carries and dove across the goal line for a 24-yard touchdown. He didn’t have a chance before the game to meet all of his new teammates and coaches so he spent the game introducing himself on the sidelines. In Week 14, he was elevated to the active roster after Philly’s D’Andre Swift was injured and Jamaal Williams was placed in COVID-19 protocols. Thin at running back, the Lions decided to see what the longshot from Kutztown could do.
“He’s not in a great situation but he’s been a great older brother,” Craig Reynolds said. “The talks on Saturday, I don’t know if they’re suited for a newspaper, but they’re good motivational talks and they get me locked in and ready to go.” “He didn’t make the greatest decisions off the field, let’s be real. I just wanted to be motivated to do right. Things happen in life and I’m just going to control what I can. He’s still a part of my life and I’m going to be thankful but he didn’t make the best decisions. That motivated me to be smart off the field and hang around with the right people.”
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