Former Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is known for doing a lot of things on the football field including being a sure tackler, a strong leader and an elite special teams player. He’s not known for throwing the football.
But Reeves-Maybin’s special teams prowess outweighed his passing deficiencies on Saturday night when he completed a 31-yard pass on a fake punt in the Detroit Lions’ Saturday night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
Reeves-Maybin caught the snap, rolled right like he was running and dropped a dime between the corner and the punt returner for a long gain. Check it out here.
Dialed up some Saturday night trickery!#DETvsDAL |📺 ABC/ESPN pic.twitter.com/rskaocMnwU
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 31, 2023
Reeves-Maybin’s NFL career has largely been defined by his prowess as a special teams player. He’s been the Lions’ special teams captain in past seasons and recorded the inaugural first down of the 2023-24 Detroit Lions season on a fake punt earlier this season.
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The Lions’ selected Reeves-Maybin in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft and the linebacker spent the first five years of his NFL career in Detroit before going to the Houston Texans last season. After spending just one season with the Texans, Reeves-Maybin returned to Detroit this season.
Reeves-Maybin has 17 total tackles and two pass deflections this season and 204 tackles and nine tackles for loss in his NFL career.
