Troy Reeder Reunites With Familiar Faces in Attempt to Improve Chargers Defense

Reeder said Monday when speaking with the media for the first time since signing his contract with the Chargers that when navigating the waters of free agency, finding a landing spot with "familiarity" was key.

While most players have to learn the scheme of the new team they sign with, the learning curve for Reeder should come together fairly quickly given his past. He's already played under Staley's defensive system, previously learning the language and concepts that will be implemented to the new additions this offseason.

"It was my first time going through free agency, you’re kind of looking for some familiarity," Reeder said. "That’s a big pro. Some of the teams that reach out, we’ve had a lot of coaches when I was with the Rams spread out throughout the league. There’s always a comfort aspect to it. Just knowing that the system is relatively the same is a huge pro. Being able to come in right away and know the language that they’re speaking and hopefully try to take the next step forward, for myself individually, and help the team take the next step, collectively. It just seemed like the right fit.”

Meanwhile, Reeder's familiarity goes well beyond just his connection with Staley. Reeder has a long list of connections with players on the current Chargers' roster. 

He spent three years with safety Nasir Adderley in college at Delaware, two years at Penn State with defensive tackle Austin Johnson, three years with defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day with the Rams and two years with tight end Gerald Everett with the Rams. Familiarity was what Reeder was looking for in free agency and he got that with joining the Chargers.

"There is some familiarity here, which is really cool," Reeder said. "Reuniting with Nas (Adderley) is a really special feeling because it’s two guys — we went to a small school where not a lot of people get this opportunity. To both be going into year four now, when sometimes it felt like the odds were against us, and be able to play for the same team in blue and gold — very similar to our college colors. It’s very cool. I can’t wait to get on the field and get working with him.”

Reeder said he's already tocuhed base with all the guys on the Chargers who he's played with during previous stops throughout his career. He and Adderley even reflected on how far they've come from playing college ball at a small school such as Delaware to where they're positioned now.

“Yep, spoken with everybody," Reeder said. "Pretty quickly through free agency, I talked with Sebastian early on. Nasir hit me up and somehow hit me up before I even knew that (the news) had kind of broken. He sent me a picture of us playing together at Delaware, which was really cool and kind of made me want to go back and look at some of the stuff. I’ve spoken with all of those guys now. We all feel the same way — we’re all just excited to be here and be part of something special.”

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Nick Cothrel is the publisher of Charger Report. Follow Nick and Charger Report on Twitter @NickCothrel & @ChargerReport for more Chargers coverage.