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Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterDec 6, 2024, 03:41 PM ET
- Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — New Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Josh Reynolds didn’t want to get into details about an October shooting that left him wounded in the arm and head, other than to say he was eager to move forward with his NFL career.
“It’s one of those things I’d rather put behind me,” Reynolds said Friday, two days after the Jaguars claimed him off waivers from the Denver Broncos. “But anybody going through that, man, it’s a crazy ordeal.
“But I’m here now. I’m in sunny Florida. I’m just blessed to be here.”
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It’s the first time Reynolds, 29, has spoken about the Oct. 18 shooting in Glendale, Colorado. According to a Denver Police report, Reynolds suffered non-life threatening injuries to his left arm and back of his head in the shooting, which occurred after Reynolds and another man were driving after they left a strip club at 2:45 a.m.
Police said Reynolds and the other man told police they were followed by multiple vehicles and shots were fired at the SUV in which they were riding. Denver Police later announced Burr Charlesworth, 42, and Luis Mendoza, 35, were arrested in connection with the shooting and were charged with six counts of first-degree attempted murder, six counts of first-degree assault and additional felonies.
Police said Reynolds was treated and released from an Denver-area hospital hours after the shooting.
“Was tough for a few weeks, but I had a good support system behind me,” Reynolds said. “A lot of the organization over there was helping me out a lot, so they made it easier for me to kind of transition through that whole process.”
Reynolds, who was on injured reserve at the time of the shooting after undergoing finger surgery, said he also got a lot of support from his family in the weeks after the shooting.
“My mom was there every weekend taking off of work and stuff,” he said. “She’s always been a big part of my life. Always been in my corner, man, whenever she can. It’s been awesome to have her traveling and just seeing her at my games.”
The Broncos had designated Reynolds to return from IR on Nov. 13 and had to either waive him or move him to the active roster and chose to waive him on Tuesday.
Reynolds had 12 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown in five games with the Broncos and has 232 catches for 3,116 yards and 20 touchdowns in 112 games with four NFL teams. He was a fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017.
