When Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Sammis Reyes first joined the NFL from the International Player Pathway Programme in 2021, he had very little knowledge of the NFL.
Impressing enough from his footage playing in Chile, Reyes was invited to hold a practice session in the United States for a number of teams in the league.
And at that session, he had a conversation with someone who he thought was just a random position coach - who turned out to be New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
He told NFL Network: "We go up the elevator, and coach Belichick jumps on the elevator with us. We had a full-out conversation for whatever, 15 seconds.
"Then he gets off on the same floor, and we’re walking the same way. We get done and one of the guys from the IPPP program asks me, ‘Do you know who that was?’
"And I’m like, ‘No, I have no idea.’ He said, ‘That’s Bill Belichick. That’s the head coach for the Patriots.’ Did I say the right thing? I was so nervous. I thought it was a random guy in the elevator asking questions. I had no idea."
After that session, Reyes was signed by the Washington Commander s and went on to play that season - becoming the first Chilean to play in the league.
Surprisingly, Reyes has only played the sport for four years after being a professional basketball player in Chile - playing for the national team, while starring at Tulane University in the US.
Reyes spent three months practicing the sport in 2021 before signing with the Commanders. He signed with the Chicago Bears last season and joined the Jaguars in May.
The 27-year-old has a tough road to making the strong roster with the Jaguars, with a loaded tight end room featuring Evan Engram who is set to sign a big extension. Veterans Luke Farrell and Josh Pederson are also on the roster competing with second-round pick Brenton Strange.
At 6'5 and 260lbs, Reyes could be a strong red zone option for Lawrence should he make Doug Pederson's roster - having yet to record a catch in the NFL.
Reyes has made two tackles, however, playing on special teams for the Commanders on multiple occasions in 2021.
