Jared Pinkney (born August 21, 1997) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

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 College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Vanderbilt and was signed 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 ...

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 ...

in 2020. He also played for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

Early life and high school

Pinkney grew up in

Norcross, Georgia Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area. History ...

, and attended

Norcross High School Norcross High School is a public high school in Norcross, Georgia, United States, part of the Gwinnett County School System, and serving the cities of Norcross and Peachtree Corners. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil. The school is also th ...

. As a senior, he caught 32 passes for 480 yards and three touchdowns and was named first-team All-region and honorable mention All-State. Rated a consensus three-star recruit, Pinkney committed to play college football at Vanderbilt over offers from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

College career

Pinkney used a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

as a true freshman after suffering an injury in the season opener. He was named to Athlon Sports'

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) All-Freshman team after catching 22 passes for 274 receiving yards and two touchdowns and posted 22 receptions, 273 receiving yards and three touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore. He entered his redshirt junior season on the watchlist for the

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

. Pinkney finished the season with 50 receptions for 774 yards and seven touchdowns and was named second-team All-SEC by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. Pinkney was again named to the Mackey Award watchlist and was named second-team preseason All-SEC going into his redshirt senior season. He was also listed as the top tight end prospect for the 2020 NFL Draft by Todd McShay and Mel Kiper of ''ESPN'' and as a projected first round pick by Pro Football Focus. Pinkney experienced a down year as a senior, finishing the season with 20 receptions for 233 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games, missing the final game of the season due to injury.

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Pinkney signed with the

as an

on April 27, 2020, shortly after the conclusion of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on January 2, 2021, for the team's week 17 game against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after being declared inactive for the game. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 11, 2021.

Tennessee Titans

On January 13, 2021, Pinkney signed a reserve/futures contract with the

. He was waived on August 31, 2021.

Detroit Lions

On September 2, 2021, Pinkney was signed to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

practice squad. He was released on October 12.

Los Angeles Rams

On October 20, 2021, Pinkney was signed to 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 ...

practice squad.

Detroit Lions (second stint)

On December 28, 2021, Pinkney was signed by the Detroit Lions off the Rams practice squad. Pinkney made his NFL debut on January 2, 2022, starting at tight end for the Lions in a 51–29 loss to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. He was waived on May 10, 2022.

Los Angeles Rams (second stint)

On June 15, 2022, Pinkney signed with the

. He was waived on August 30, 2022, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on January 7, 2023. On March 10, 2023, Pinkney was waived by the

Chicago Bears

On July 31, 2023, Pinkney signed with the

. He was waived/injured on August 21, 2023, and reverted to

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

the next day after going unclaimed on waivers.

References

External links

Vanderbilt Commodores bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinkney, Jared 1997 births Living people People from Norcross, Georgia Players of American football from Gwinnett County, Georgia American football tight ends Norcross High School alumni Vanderbilt Commodores football players Atlanta Falcons players Tennessee Titans players Detroit Lions players Los Angeles Rams players Chicago Bears players