Tyree Jackson (born November 7, 1997) is an American football tight end for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of the National Football League (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 ...

as a quarterback at Buffalo. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in 2019. He played for the DC Defenders of the XFL in 2020.

Early years

Jackson attended

Mona Shores High School Mona Shores High School is a public high school in Norton Shores, Michigan, United States. It serves grades 9-12 for Mona Shores Public Schools. History Mona Shores Public Schools was formed by merging five K-8 school districts into one K-12 distr ...

in Norton Shores, Michigan, where he was the starting varsity QB all four years of high school. During his career, he passed for 4,491 yards with 50 touchdowns, had 8,149 yards of total offense and had a 24–18 record. He committed to the University at Buffalo to play college football after receiving offers from Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and UConn.

College career

After redshirting his first year at Buffalo in 2015, Jackson played in 10 games and made nine starts in 2016. He finished the season completing 165 of 311 passes for 1,772 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. As a sophomore in 2017, he started eight games and missed four due to an injury. He completed 143 of 237 passes for 2,096 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Jackson returned as the starter in 2018, where he was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year and lead the Bulls to a 10–4 season, a MAC East division title and a bowl game appearance in the Dollar General Bowl. On January 6, 2019, Jackson announced that he would forgo his senior season to pursue a career in the NFL. He was invited to the

2019 Senior Bowl The 2019 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game played on January 26, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. CST, at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2019 draft of the professional National F ...

, playing for the South team and being named team MVP.

College statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Following the conclusion of the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

, Jackson signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2019. Jackson started the fourth game of the preseason at quarterback and led a comeback to erase a 23-6 deficit with under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

DC Defenders

In October 2019, Jackson was drafted in the ninth round in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

by the DC Defenders. During the first two games, both Defenders victories under starter

Cardale Jones Cardale Jones (; born September 29, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played college football at Ohio State. At the beginning of the 2014 season, Jones was listed a ...

, Jackson's only statistic was one rush for 5 yards. Jackson saw increased but limited snaps during the next two games which were both blowout losses for the Defenders, including a shutout to the previously winless Tampa Bay Vipers in week 4. Jackson entered in relief of Jones in week 5, kick-starting a Defenders' victory by going 9–14 for 39 yards and a touchdown, caught by Khari Lee. Within the next few days, the rest of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jackson finished the shortened 5-game XFL season by going 11–18 for 46 yards and a touchdown, and 9 rushes for 28 yards. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Philadelphia Eagles

On January 7, 2021, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Jackson to a reserve/futures contract as a tight end. During his transition from quarterback to tight end, Jackson was having a very promising training camp, with some believing that he could earn a roster spot. However, he suffered a fractured bone in his back on August 17. He was placed on

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 ...

on September 2, 2021. He was activated on November 6 and made his NFL debut on November 7, appearing in 14 plays on offense and 4 plays on special teams. On November 21, he was targeted with a pass for the first time in his career, but the throw from Jalen Hurts was incomplete. Two weeks later, he started a game for the first time in his career. In the final game of the regular season on January 8, 2022, Jackson caught the first pass of his NFL career, a three-yard

shovel pass A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made ...

from Gardner Minshew, for his first career touchdown. Later in that game, he tore his ACL, ending his season. He was officially placed on the injured reserve list two days later. He was placed on the Active/PUP list on July 27. He was placed on the reserve list on August 23, to start the 2022 season. He was activated from the PUP list on November 16. On December 23, Jackson was placed on season–ending injured reserve. Without Jackson, the Eagles reached Super Bowl LVII but lost 38–35 to the Kansas City Chiefs. On April 24, 2023, the Jackson signed his exclusive rights tender with the Eagles for the 2023 season. On August 29, Jackson was released.

New York Giants

On August 30, 2023, the

signed Jackson to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on January 6, 2024.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bioBuffalo Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Tyree 1997 births Living people People from Muskegon County, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan American football quarterbacks American football tight ends Buffalo Bulls football players Buffalo Bills players DC Defenders players Philadelphia Eagles players 21st-century African-American sportspeople New York Giants players