Jordan Reaves (born January 25, 1990) is a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

defensive lineman for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). Reaves originally played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

for the

Brandon Bobcats The Brandon Bobcats are the athletic teams that represent Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Currently, there are six Bobcat teams competing in U Sports as members of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association while the Bobcat ...

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...

before making the switch to football.

College career

Brandon University

Reaves played from 2010-2014 for the Brandon University

Bobcats The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

men's basketball team.

Professional career

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Reaves was signed by his hometown

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

on April 9, 2015, following workouts in Winnipeg and at the 2015 Edmonton Regional Combine. He played in two pre-season games as a wide receiver and recorded one catch for six yards. Reaves was part of the team's final cuts on June 20, 2016.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

After spending the

2015 CFL season The 2015 CFL season was the 62nd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 58th Canadian Football League season. The Edmonton Eskimos won the 103rd Grey Cup on November 29, defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 26–20 in Winnipeg ...

unsigned by a CFL team, Reaves signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

on January 29, 2016. While listed as a defensive back, Reaves practiced as a defensive lineman through training camp and upon making the team, he dressed in his first regular season game on June 30, 2016, as a backup

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

. He played in five games for the Roughriders in 2016 and recorded two special teams tackles. He was released during training camp the following year on June 18, 2017. On May 20, 2018, he re-signed with Saskatchewan for 2018 training camp. Reaves signed a one-year contract extension with the Roughriders on December 21, 2020.

Edmonton Elks

Reaves joined the

in free agency on February 15, 2022. The Elks announced Reaves was re-signed on July 3, 2023.

Personal life

Jordan is the youngest son of former Winnipeg Blue Bomber

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Willard Reaves Willard Sheldon Reaves (born August 17, 1959) is an American-Canadian former professional gridiron football running back who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Canadian Football League, and for the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Redskins ...

, who played with the team for five years and was a member of the

72nd Grey Cup The 72nd Grey Cup was the 1984 Canadian Football League championship game, played at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Blue Bombers dominated the Tiger-Cats in a 47–17 victory. ...

winning team. Jordan is also the younger brother of

Ryan Reaves Ryan Reaves (born January 20, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, and ...

, a professional hockey player and

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. In February 2008, Reaves was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, which he pleaded guilty to in December 2008, and received a conditional sentence, one year of supervised probation, and was not allowed to possess a weapon for 10-years. In 2016, Reaves was charged with one count of drug trafficking, but was set free on bail, after a routine traffic stop discovered cocaine in his possession. His trial in Winnipeg began in November 2017, where he pleaded his innocence. On January 24, 2018, he was acquitted of drug trafficking charges after the judge determined there was a lack of evidence. Reaves is the great-great-great-grandson of

Bass Reeves Bass Reeves (July 1838 – January 12, 1910) was an American law enforcement official, historically noted as the first black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River. He worked mostly in Arkansas and the Oklahoma Territory. During his lo ...

, a former slave who was the first black lawman west of the Mississippi River and among the first black U.S. deputy marshalls; Reeves' life is the focus of the 2023 TV series Lawmen: Bass Reeves. Bass served as a deputy U.S. marshal in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

under the direction of judge

Isaac Parker Isaac Charles Parker (October 15, 1838 – November 17, 1896), also known as “Hanging Judge” Parker, was an American politician and jurist. He served as a United States representative from Missouri and was appointed as the first United Stat ...

, known as the "Hanging Judge".

References

External links

Edmonton Elks profile

Brandon Bobcats profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reaves, Jordan 1990 births Living people Canadian football defensive backs Canadian football defensive linemen Players of Canadian football from Manitoba Saskatchewan Roughriders players Canadian football people from Winnipeg Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Canadian people of African-American descent Black Canadian players of Canadian football