Timothy Wright (born April 7, 1990) is a former

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 ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2013. 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 ...

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

, where he subsequently opened a barbershop in 2016. He grew up in

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New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He went to Green Grove Elementary School. As a teen played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Wall High School.

College football

Wright played wide receiver at

under head coach

Greg Schiano Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Rutgers University, a position he held from 2001 to 2011 and resumed before the 2020 season. Schiano served as the head coach for the Tampa ...

for his first couple of years. Schiano was also his head coach in the NFL for his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On April 29, 2013, Wright was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

. On June 12, 2013, Wright was moved from wide receiver to

. Wright played all 16 games for the Buccaneers, starting 8. He finished the season with 54 catches for 571 yards and 5 touchdowns, the yards and touchdowns tied for the most by an undrafted rookie tight end in NFL history. Wright was the only rookie tight end in 2013 to have more than 500 receiving yards.

New England Patriots

On August 26, 2014, Wright was traded by the Buccaneers to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

along with a 2015 4th round draft pick for guard

Logan Mankins Logan Lee Mankins (born March 10, 1982) is a former American football guard who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. After playing college football at Fresno State, he was drafte ...

. Wright played in 11 games for the Patriots, catching 26 passes for 259 yards, with a career-high 6 touchdowns. Wright played in the Patriots

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

victory over the Seattle Seahawks, but did not record any catches. He was released on June 11, 2015.

Return to Tampa Bay

On June 12, 2015, the

claimed Wright off waivers.

Detroit Lions

On August 31, 2015, the Buccaneers traded Wright 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 ...

in exchange for

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

Kyle Brindza. During the 2015 season, Wright appeared in nine games for the Lions, where he finished with nine receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns. On March 16, 2016, the Lions re-signed Wright to a one-year contract. On May 31, 2016, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a torn ACL. On August 9, 2017, Wright re-signed with the Lions. He was released on August 28, 2017.

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 9, 2018, Wright was signed by the

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 ...

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Career statistics

Timothy Wright Stats
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References

External links

New England Patriots bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bioRutgers Scarlet Knights bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Tim 1990 births Living people American football tight ends American football wide receivers Detroit Lions players Kansas City Chiefs players New England Patriots players People from Wall Township, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Wall High School (New Jersey) alumni Tampa Bay Buccaneers players