Tyrone Wheatley Jr. (born February 4, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

for 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Wheatley played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

and

Stony Brook Seawolves The Stony Brook Seawolves are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Stony Brook University (SBU) in Stony Brook, New York. The Seawolves play as members of the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly known as the Colonial Athletic As ...

Early life

Wheatley played

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Canisius High School Canisius High School is a Catholic, private college-preparatory school for young men run by the USA Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus in Buffalo, New York, United States, just north of the Delaware Avenue Historic District. Founded in ...

, where he was also named ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...

''' player of the year. He was listed as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, who ranked him as the 13th best tight end prospect in the nation and the top ranked in New York state.

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

also named him the No. 12 overall prospect in the nation. As a defensive end, Wheatley was ranked as the 25th-best prospect in the country and the top overall prospect in New York state by Scout.com. Wheatley also held offers from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, but committed to

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, his father's alma mater, on February 4, 2015.

College career

Michigan

Wheatley, playing as a tight end, missed his entire true freshman season with a foot injury. He scored his first touchdown against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

on October 22, 2016. He finished the season with three receptions for 35 yards, playing in 12 games. In his sophomore season, Wheatley made his first collegiate start against Florida on September 2, 2017. He made three starts in the season, catching three receptions for 26 yards. Wheatley fractured his

metatarsal The metatarsal bones or metatarsus (: metatarsi) are a group of five long bones in the midfoot, located between the tarsal bones (which form the heel and the ankle) and the phalanges ( toes). Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are ...

in his foot in March 2018, ruling him out for spring ball. On August 2, 2018, a day before Michigan started training camp, Wheatley announced that he would be departing the team.

Stony Brook

On August 5, 2018, Stony Brook announced that Wheatley had transferred to the Seawolves. Moving from FBS to FCS, he was eligible immediately. Wheatley made his first start at tight end for Stony Brook on September 22 against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. Wheatley started in eight games for Stony Brook, recording six receptions for 36 yards on the season. After the season, Wheatley transferred to Morgan State, where his father,

Tyrone Wheatley Tyrone Anthony Wheatley Sr. (born January 19, 1972) is an American college football coach and former professional player who is the head football coach for Wayne State University, a position he has held since 2023. Previously, he served as th ...

, was in his first year as the head coach, but did not play in a single game or record any statistics due to injury.

Professional career

The Spring League

Wheatley played for the Blues in the 2021 Spring League season, converting from tight end to offensive tackle.

Chicago Bears

He signed with 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

on June 17, 2021. Wheatley was waived during final roster cuts, but re-signed to the team's practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bears on January 11, 2022. He was waived on May 6, 2022.

Las Vegas Raiders

On May 15, 2022, Wheatley signed with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. On August 16, 2022, Wheatley was waived by the Raiders.

Cleveland Browns

On September 20, 2022, Wheatley signed with the practice squad of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2023.

New England Patriots

On August 27, 2023, Wheatley was traded to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in exchange for Pierre Strong Jr. Wheatley played in the first two games of the season on special teams. He was placed on injured reserve on October 14, 2023, with a knee injury. His 21-day window to return from IR was opened on December 13 but was not activated before the season's end. On August 2, 2024, Wheatley was waived/injured by the Patriots.

Atlanta Falcons

On October 21, 2024, Wheatley was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 6, 2025.

Personal life

Wheatley is the son of

, former Michigan running back and first-round NFL draft pick. Wheatley Sr. is currently the head coach at Wayne State.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio

Stony Brook profile

Michigan profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheatley, Tyrone Jr. 1997 births Living people American football offensive linemen American football tight ends Michigan Wolverines football players Stony Brook Seawolves football players Players of American football from Buffalo, New York 21st-century African-American sportsmen Chicago Bears players Las Vegas Raiders players Cleveland Browns players New England Patriots players The Spring League players Atlanta Falcons players Canisius High School alumni