Dontez Byrd (born August 9, 1995) 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 ...

wide receiver who is currently the Running Backs Quality Control Coach for the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the Co ...

. He played college football at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

and Tennessee Tech University. He was signed by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

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 ...

after the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

College career

Louisville

Byrd graduated from Ballard High School in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, with zero scholarship offers to play collegiate football. Byrd was a walk-on at the

and played 23 games at

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

between 2013 and 2015 where mostly played special teams.

Tennessee Tech

Byrd transferred from

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

on February 4, 2016. Byrd played 22 games at

and hauled in 152 catches for 1,936 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns between 2016 and 2017.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Byrd signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on April 18, 2018. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Memphis Express

Prior to the inaugural

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

Season, Byrd signed with the

Memphis Express The Memphis Express was a professional American football franchise based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a member of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) during its single season in 2019. They played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadi ...

. Byrd played six game for Memphis and had 10 catches for 136 receiving and one touchdown. The AAF ceased operations on April 2, 2019, with all player contracts being terminated with two scheduled games left in the season.

Seattle Dragons

On January 14, 2020, Byrd signed with the

Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons (formerly known as the Seattle Dragons) are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The team is a franchise of the new XFL and plays its home games at Lumen Field in Seattle. Originally founded ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. Byrd played five games for Seattle and had five catches for 44 yards. The XFL cancelled the rest of the 2020 Season with five scheduled games left due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and later suspended league operations and terminated staff and player contracts.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Byrd signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

on April 19, 2020. After the 2020 CFL season was cancelled, Byrd opted out of his contract on August 31, 2020. Byrd was re-signed on December 10, 2020, and was released June 23, 2021.

Massachusetts Pirates

Byrd signed with the

Massachusetts Pirates The Massachusetts Pirates are a professional indoor football team of the Indoor Football League based in Worcester, Massachusetts, with home games at the DCU Center. The Pirates began play in the 2018 season as a member of the National Arena Lea ...

of the

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

on June 29, 2021. Byrd played 10 games for the Pirates and had 20 catches for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Byrd helped lead the Pirate to their first ever IFL United Bowl championship win, in which he had three catches for 23 yards.

Orlando Guardians

On November 17, 2022, Byrd was drafted by the

Orlando Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLife ...

of the

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Dontez Living people 1995 births American football wide receivers Louisville Cardinals football players Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football players Memphis Express (American football) players Seattle Dragons players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Massachusetts Pirates players Orlando Guardians players Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky