Washington Commanders player Jeremy Reaves secured a playoff spot and a fiancée on the same day.
Yesterday (December 29), the 28-year-old NFL safety celebrated his team’s overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons, which locked in their playoff spot, by getting down on one knee in front of his partner of over a year, Mikaela Worley.
From the sidelines of Maryland’s Northwest Stadium, Reaves asked for the physician assistant’s hand in marriage. Though they’ve only been dating since the summer of 2023, they have reportedly been friends since high school.
In footage shared online, Worley can be seen falling to the ground overwhelmed by emotion before telling Reaves, “Yes.” The happy couple then embraced each other as flocks of Commanders players came over to congratulate them and cheers from fans rang above.
Reaves said that while he’d wanted to propose for some time, he was waiting for the perfect moment.
Speaking to the Associated Press, the professional athlete joked of his engagement ring: “That thing was burning a hole in my pocket.”
“I hate losing, so there’s no way I could have done that in the right spirit after a loss,” he continued. “If we win this game, it’s destiny.”
Reaves went on to explain how Worley, who played volleyball at the University of Louisiana Monroe, has supported him “through the worst” when his season abruptly ended after he tore his ACL in October 2023.
“She’s earned it. I can’t say enough about her. When I was at my lowest last year, she was there to pick me up every day,” he said.
“She showed up. I was going through the worst last year coming off an ACL [tear]. Couldn’t do anything, couldn’t be my own man and she was the crutch there when I couldn’t do it myself.”
Reaves was signed by the Commanders as a free agent in 2018. Over the last six seasons, the star athlete has grown to become a key player on the team, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections back in 2022.
Last night, he helped his team make the playoffs for the first time since 2020 with two standout tackles. Before the match got started, both teams honored the life of President Jimmy Carter with a moment of silence hours after he died at the age of 100.
As of now, the Commanders are the seventh seed in the National Football Conference with a season record of 11 to five. However, if they beat the Dallas Cowboys on January 5, they could move up one spot in the rankings.
Until the playoffs begin, there’s really no telling who will be facing off for Super Bowl 59, which is scheduled for February 9.
