 Reaves was selected in the first round (fourteenth pick overall) of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, and he played for the Eagles from to .He was then traded to the Cincinnati Bengals in , claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Vikings in , and signed to the Houston Oilers in .Reaves jumped to the expansion Tampa Bay Bandits of the start-up USFL in 1983; he was the Bandits' starting quarterback for three seasons under head coach Steve Spurrier in a pass-oriented offense.