Jaguars sign Chilean-born tight end Sammis Reyes, release safety Deionte Thompson
The Jacksonville Jaguars signed free agent tight end Sammis Reyes to its 90-man roster, the team announced Tuesday. As a corresponding move, the team released safety Deionte Thompson, who signed a reserve/futures deal with the team shortly following the 2022 season.
Reyes, who initially played professional football after being signed by the Washington Commanders in April 2021, appeared in 11 games, making one start.
Reyes, 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, was the first player born in Chile to play in an NFL game. Reyes spent time on the Chicago Bears practice squad in 2022 after being waived by the Commanders prior to the regular season beginning.
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Prior to making his NFL debut, Reyes played basketball as a youth member of the Chile national team prior to moving to the United States on an athletic scholarship at 14. He played college basketball for a number of teams, including at Hawaii, Palm Beach State, Tulane and Loyola-New Orleans.
He was noticed by the NFL after being accepted into the NFL's International Player Pathway Program, which is when he got his shot with the Commanders. He was also drafted in the fourth round of the CFL Global Draft by the Toronto Argonauts.
A Chilean basketball player who briefly played hoops at Tulane recently tested as the most-athletic size-adjusted TE to ever enter the NFL, per the RAS system (h/t @MathBomb)
And yes, that includes Kyle Pitts pic.twitter.com/5LOzTLP7RS— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) April 7, 2021
Reyes, 27, is rated as the most athletic size-adjusted tight end to enter the league, according to his Real Athletic Score (RAS) of 10. He graded out higher than Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts. Reyes ran a 4.65 40-yard dash, while he jumped 40 inches on the vertical jump and 10-feet-5-inches on the broad jump.
The Jaguars lacked depth at the tight end position, with only five listed on the roster prior to Reyes' signing. Now, the team will enter OTAs next week with six, including second-round pick Brenton Strange, undrafted free agent rookie Leonard Taylor and veterans Evan Engram, Luke Farrell and Gerrit Prince.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on Twitter at @Demetrius82.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars sign Chilean-born TE Sammis Reyes, release S Deionte Thompson
