O’Neill, a star right tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, had rented a house in southern California, like he has for the past few offseasons to train during the winter. This time, O’Neill moved in near Reeder, a linebacker who had just finished up the season with the Los Angeles Chargers, and was about to become a free agent.

So O’Neill and Reeder watched the Eagles play in the Super Bowl together. And it was during the Eagles’ 38-35 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when they first started broaching the idea of playing together for the first time in 10 years, when they led the Sals to the Division I state championship.

O’Neill and Reeder.

“We kind of made some jokes about it, and then (O’Neill) was like, ‘You should come to Minnesota,’ and I’m like, ‘Imagine if I ended up in Minnesota in free agency. That would just be crazy,’” Reeder said Thursday in an interview with Delawareonline.com/The Delaware News Journal.

“And then as as free agency opened in mid March, I was able to (pepper) Brian a little bit with questions. I was like, ‘Hey, man, this might be unfolding, that I could possibly end up in Minnesota. What do you think of the situation? How do you think I would fit in there?’”

O’Neill.

Needless to say, O’Neill gave Reeder a good review, and Reeder signed a one-year deal with the Vikings on March 22. But it wasn’t a tough choice. Reeder knew Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell when O’Connell was the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator.

And he often heard O’Neill rave about his Vikings teammates.

Reeder.

Reeder played for the Los Angeles Rams from 2019, when he signed as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Delaware, through 2021, when the Rams won the Super Bowl.

Reeder became a key player both at linebacker and at special teams. He started 25 games for the Rams in his three seasons, including in their 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl in Feb. 2022.

Reeder.

Reeder then signed a one-year deal with the Chargers as a free agent, playing for former Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who had become the Chargers’ head coach. He also reunited with former UD teammate Nasir Adderley, a safety who was the Chargers’ second-round pick in 2019.

Reeder was used primarily on special teams last season, where he became a core member.