On Sunday, a full year will have elapsed since C.J. Reavis suffered a ruptured left Achilles’ tendon in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 2022 season finale.
Now, with the 2023 campaign having just concluded, the 27-year-old “Sam” (strong-side) linebacker can take stock of everything he has accomplished over a most eventful 12 months.
For starters, Reavis recovered from the Achilles’ injury — the second such setback he experienced in a six-month span after signing with the Roughriders on April 1, 2022 — in time to play in the June 11 opener against the host Edmonton Elks.
From there, he went several steps further, entrenching himself as a front-line player.
While playing in 17 of the Roughriders’ 18 CFL regular-season games, Reavis registered 59 defensive tackles (including five for a loss), three sacks, one interception, one pass knockdown, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Tack on six special-teams tackles and Reavis was involved in 81 defensive plays — a total that placed him second on the team to middle linebacker Larry Dean (114), who on Wednesday was named the Roughriders’ Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
Dean has exceeded 100 defensive tackles in back-to-back seasons since suffering an Achilles injury of his own in 2021. The rebound by Reavis has also been impressive and inspiring.
“I’m very proud, with the work that I put in coming off the Achilles injury,” he said. “I’m just super-grateful and blessed to be healthy and to be able to show what I can do.
“From the day I tore my left Achilles — which is Oct. 29 — until camp started in May, it was rehab every single day from 7 a.m. until around 12. I was doing that every single day and making sure I was doing all the things to make sure that I could get back and contribute.
“It’s rewarding that all the extra work I put in doesn’t go in vain. It’s definitely worth something and I was able to put that on film and make my family proud as well.”
Before joining the Roughriders, Reavis had lined up as a defensive back. The 6-foot-0, 198-pounder transitioned to the role of strong-side linebacker early in his tenure in green and white.
“When Sask first called me, they told me that the Sam position was kind of like a nickel position or a strong safety down south,” said Reavis, a graduate of the Marshall Thundering Herd who had NFL stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons before joining the Roughriders.
“I think I’ve always kind of played that nickel position, so it was not that big of a transition, because I’ve always been around the ball and I’ve always been kind of that slot corner.
“I wouldn’t say it was an easy transition, but it was smooth.”
A varied skill set made him a natural for the position.
“Sam was a good position for me, because I’ve always loved being around the ball,” said Reavis, who also saw some early-season duty at safety after an injury to starter Jayden Dalke.
“I’ve liked being active on the defence as far as blitzing and as far as playing coverage and all those things, so I think Sam is a good spot where you can play in the box like a linebacker and also get to cover like a DB.
“It just goes back to being versatile and being an all-around football player. I never wanted to be a certain kind of player. I wanted to be an all-around player and to be able to do whatever the coach asks me to do. That just speaks to that, and to working on every little detail of my game in the off-season.”
As a bonus, he won’t have to spend this off-season recuperating from a serious injury. Therefore, he will be able to concentrate on building on his standout showings from 2023.
“I’m not even 100 per cent as far as what I can do and as far as learning the ins and outs of the game in general and the ins and outs of the position,” Reavis said.
“I feel like I have more to go, for sure, and that this is just the beginning.”
