Bryce Perkins (born December 20, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, Arizona Western, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

before signing with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2020.

Early years

Perkins attended Chandler High School in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

. As a senior, he led Chandler to their first state championship victory since 1949. During his high school career he passed for 5,332 yards with 70 touchdowns and had 26 rushing touchdowns. Perkins committed to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

to play college football.

College career

Arizona State (2015–2016)

Perkins redshirted his first year at Arizona State in 2015 and missed 2016 due to a broken neck.

Arizona Western College (2017)

He transferred to

Arizona Western College Arizona Western College (AWC) is a public community college in Yuma, Arizona. It offers associate degrees, occupational certificates, and transfer degrees. AWC also offers classes in Dateland, La Paz, San Luis, Somerton, and Wellton. Aca ...

in 2017. In his lone season there he passed for 1,311 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 353 yards and four touchdowns.

Virginia (2018–2019)

In 2018, Perkins transferred to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. Prior to the season, he was named the team's starter. He started all 13 games and set the school record for total offense in a single season with 3,603 yards and 34 touchdowns. He completed 225 of 349 passes for 2,680 yards with 25 touchdowns, nine interceptions and rushed for 923 yards and nine touchdowns. Perkins returned to Virginia as the starting quarterback for the 2019 season. Perkins started all 14 games for Virginia in 2019 and finished the season with 319 completions out of 495 pass attempts (64.4%) for 3,540 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also had 227 carries for 769 rushing yards (3.4 YPC) and 11 touchdowns.

Professional career

Perkins signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on April 25, 2020. He was waived by the team during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on January 2 and January 15, 2021, for the team's week 17 and divisional playoff games against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. On January 18, 2021, Perkins signed a reserve/futures contract with the Rams. Perkins was among players who received a Super Bowl ring for the Rams victory over the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...

. He made his NFL debut in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

filling in for

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected f ...

in weeks 10–12 against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

following injuries to Stafford and

Wolford Wolford, headquartered in Bregenz on Lake Constance in Austria, is a textile manufacturer of tights, bodysuits and underwear, as well as women's clothing and accessories. Wolford has 16 subsidiaries and markets its products in approx. 60 co ...

NFL career statistics

Personal life

His father, Bruce Perkins, played fullback at

and briefly in the NFL. His uncle,

Don Perkins Donald Anthony Perkins (March 4, 1938 – June 9, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of New Mexico ...

, played eight seasons as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. His older brother,

Paul Perkins Paul Kerry Perkins II (born November 16, 1994) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, leading the Pac-12 Conference in ...

, has also played in the NFL.

References

External links

Los Angeles Rams bioVirginia Cavaliers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Bryce 1996 births Living people People from Queen Creek, Arizona Sportspeople from the Phoenix metropolitan area Players of American football from Arizona American football quarterbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football players Arizona Western Matadors football players Virginia Cavaliers football players Los Angeles Rams players African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople