The Detroit Lions took quite the beating on Sunday verse the New England Patriots. While it’s easy to point out what went wrong in this game, some players had some great moments.  Craig Reynolds was a definite standout in this game.

Reynolds had 6 carries for 24 yards and 3 receptions for a career-high of 68 receiving yards. One of those receptions was good for 36 yards. He had the second most receiving yards in this game, behind Josh Reynolds who had 92 receiving yards.

The 26-year-old was born in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and attended Kutztown University. Reynolds finished his collegiate career as the school’s all-time rusher with 2,650 yards and second in school history with 5,277 all-purpose yards.

He went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft and signed with the Washington Redskins after participating in the team’s rookie minicamp. Reynolds made his NFL Debut playing on special teams for the Redskins in 2019, against the San Francisco 49ers. After being waived by the Redskins, he spent time with the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars before signing with the Detroit Lions in 2021.

Reynolds played in 5 games for the Lions last season. He totaled 55 carries for 230 yards and seven receptions for 52 yards.

Family Struggles

A little bit of the running back’s life was featured in this year’s pre-season series on HBO’s Hard Knocks. He has an older brother, Eric, who was a high school football standout with the potential to make it in the League. Eric became addicted to drugs and has been in prison since Craig was in just the seventh grade. Their relationship is still strong.  Craig calls him the night before every game. One of the calls with his brother appeared on Hard Knocks. Eric still motivates him every time they talk.

“I’ve made enough mistakes for you, for me and 1,001 other people, bro. So at this point in time, Craig, you need to continue moving forward, bro.”

Craig says he still learns from Eric despite the fact he’s still in jail.

“He’s still a role model- he just shows you what not to do.”

Eric has the opportunity to be released this year, so the dream of them reuniting may be sooner than later.

With D’Andre Swift still suffering with a shoulder injury, we may see more of Craig Reynolds in next week’s matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.

Maddy Miller – Detroit Lions Beat Reporter

On Twitter: @madelynvmillerr

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Photo Credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK