From Kutztown to the Lions, Craig Reynolds is living his NFL dream — and his brother’s
The running back scored a playoff touchdown against the Buccaneers. His brother, former inmate Eric Reynolds, is a big fan.
Craig Reynolds left Abington High without a Division I scholarship to play running back, went undrafted after setting records at Division II Kutztown, and interviewed for insurance jobs before an NFL team stumbled upon his YouTube highlights.
He finally made it to the league — Reynolds wore a shirt and tie to his first practice as a way to stand out — but the dream seemed to be fading after he was waived four times in two years while recording just one carry.
Yet there he was on Sunday, lined up in Detroit’s backfield with a playoff game in the balance. The player who wasn’t supposed to reach the NFL was ready for one of the afternoon’s key plays: game tied, fourth down on the 1-yard line, late in the third quarter.
And he wasn’t supposed to be there, either.
The Lions had the wrong players on the field after Tampa Bay changed its defensive personnel. There wasn’t enough time to swap out Reynolds, who had not carried the ball since Oct. 30, so the Lions ran the play anyway. Reynolds — the underdog who needed to make the most of every opportunity — busted through for a go-ahead touchdown.
It was a special moment in a journey that only kept churning because Reynolds, 27, refused to stop. And it was even more special because Reynolds’ older brother — the former high school star who inspired his little brother to be a running back like him — was at home watching.
Eric Reynolds, a superstar running back at Central Bucks South who seemed destined for the NFL, had been in and out of prison since before Craig Reynolds reached high school. Eric Reynolds’ football dream ended just before he was set to play in college. The last time Eric saw his little brother play, Craig was a 12-year-old on the Warrington Warriors. Now the little brother is a win away from the Super Bowl.
“It’s a great feeling,” Craig said of his brother’s being home. “My dad has his son back.”
After going undrafted in 2019, Craig Reynolds was invited to Washington’s rookie camp so the team could have enough bodies to run drills for the players it drafted that spring. He reported in a shirt and tie — it was his agent’s idea to set Reynolds apart in a room full of hooded sweatshirts — and left with an invitation to training camp. It was a start.
He split the season with Washington and Atlanta, mostly as a practice-squad player before moving the next season to Jacksonville. Reynolds was without a team when training camp opened in 2021. Three days before their first preseason game, the Lions called and wanted Reynolds to fly to Detroit. He missed his flight — rush-hour traffic on I-95 is enough to even dim NFL dreams — and didn’t get to Detroit until the next day.
He called his brother, then a state prison inmate in Somerset County, the night before the game. In 2016, Eric Reynolds was sentenced to five to 15 years after pleading guilty to robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, criminal attempt, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and disorderly conduct. In court, Reynolds attributed his downfall to drug addiction.
Reynolds told his younger brother that the preseason game might be the start of something special. The former high school phenom was right: Craig Reynolds made a great impression and stayed with the Lions. He’s been with them ever since, carving out a role with a team that won three games in 2021 and is now playing for the NFC title on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I definitely reflect,” Craig Reynolds said. “I thank God every day. I wouldn’t be here without him. It’s truly a blessing. It’s something I worked for and prayed on and been devoted to. At the same time, the job’s not done.”
He has played on special teams, lined up as a fullback, blocked on jet sweeps, and even lined up as a wide receiver. Sunday marked his first carry in three months, but he has found a way every week to make an impact.
» READ MORE: Long live Techmo: Inside a marathon video game tournament
“I just take pride in being able to do a whole bunch of things,” Reynolds said. “Whatever they ask me to do, I just understand my role. The biggest thing — and the most important thing — is just getting the job done and executing. It doesn’t matter what it is. I’m going to go out there and do it.”
Eric Reynolds traveled to Baltimore in October to watch his brother play against the Ravens. The former Warrington Warrior was a Detroit Lion.
While he was in prison, Eric Reynolds saw some highlights, looked at box scores, and relied on family members to keep up with what his younger brother was doing. Finally, he was able to see his brother in person. Reynolds stood on the sideline before the game and watched with his father, who saw other NFL families sitting together to watch their sons and wondered if he would ever get the chance.
“It was so great to just see the brothers together,” said Reynolds’ father, Eric Sr.
Eric Reynolds is 34, two months older than the NFL’s oldest rusher this season. Five months after being released from prison, Reynolds is working as a roofer and hanging out with his family. He and his brother trade barbs about who was better: The older brother was T———he Inquirer’s high school player of the year, but the younger brother has a playoff TD for the Detroit Lions.
Their careers turned out differently, but they both started with the same dream: playing in the NFL. One of them did and the other is now able to see it. Eric Reynolds watched his brother score on Sunday and asked him later that night about that dance he did in the corner of the end zone. Reynolds told his teammates months ago that he would dance like that the next time he scored. He finally did, an unlikely TD from an unlikely NFL running back. And now that dream is a win away from the Super Bowl.
“It was an awesome moment,” Craig Reynolds said of seeing his brother before that game in October. “Just having him there, seeing him pregame, and him being on the field. It was something we’ve talked about since we were little kids, whether it was both of us being here or whatever. It was just dope to see it all come true. I’ve been working on that since I was 12 years old. It’s a testament that with God and hard work, anything is possible. I’m just thankful that I was able to share that with him.
“And now that he’s watching, he can be more critical at times, which is good. Even at the game, he was critical. I think I missed something and he was giving me hell for it. It’s brotherly love and I appreciate it.”