NFL

Washington Signs Ex-College Basketball Player as Tight End

WFT's newest TE lacks name value but possesses wild potential originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Washington Football Team has a new tight end, and while Sammis Reyes' name was likely unknown to just about everyone who follows the franchise as recently as a few hours ago, he has tools that give him a solid shot at becoming a productive and popular player.

On Tuesday, the organization announced it signed the 6-foot-7 prospect who played basketball at Tulane for two seasons before pivoting to pursue a career in football. The 25-year-old grew up in Chile before moving to the United States as a teenager.

Already intrigued, right? Well, there's more to learn, and like, about Reyes.

The converted hooper was originally slated to try and break into the league via its International Player Pathway Program, but on March 31, he impressed Washington enough during the University of Florida's Pro Day that the club opted to snare him before he continued on in the IPPP. 

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Reyes looked relatively comfortable in Florida running routes and catching passes, very comfortable changing direction in some agility drills and supremely comfortable bench pressing a bunch of weight a bunch of times.

Here's a tweet that further illustrates the sheer explosion and physical gifts Reyes will use in his attempt to make Washington's roster.

After the success Washington, and specifically tight ends coach Pete Hoener, had in developing Logan Thomas in 2020, bringing in someone with Reyes' raw skills makes total sense.

Reyes clearly has plenty of hurdles in front of him that he'll have to clear in order to actually suit up on a Sunday, but Hoener — who has tutored Greg Olsen, Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker in addition to Thomas — is precisely the kind of guy who could get the most out of Reyes. And if it doesn't work out, Washington won't be burned much, if at all.

For whatever reason, tight end is a spot where many, many guys can thrive even if they didn't thrive elsewhere or they didn't play football at all before lining up there.

In Reyes, Washington now has the next great project at the position, and tracking whether they can somehow reap great results from that project will be an underrated fun part of training camp and the preseason.

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