Tyler Bray facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tyler Bray

Bray with the Tennessee Volunteers in 2012
No. 9, 8
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1991-12-27) December 27, 1991 (age 33) Clovis, California, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:	223 lb (101 kg)
Career information
High school:	Kingsburg (Kingsburg, California)
College:	Tennessee
Undrafted:	2013
Career history
Kansas City Chiefs (2013–2017) Chicago Bears (2018–2020) San Francisco 49ers (2021)*
Career NFL statistics
Passing completions: 1 Passing attempts: 6 Passing yards: 18 TD–INT: 0–0 Passer rating: 40.9
Player stats at PFR

Tyler Ian Bray (born December 27, 1991) is a former American professional football player. He played as a quarterback. Tyler went to college at the University of Tennessee. After college, he joined the Kansas City Chiefs and later played for the Chicago Bears.

Early Life in Football

Tyler Bray grew up in Kingsburg, California. He went to Kingsburg High School. In his final year of high school, Tyler led his football team, the Vikings, to a perfect season. They won all 13 of their games. During that season, he threw for 3,321 yards and scored 41 touchdowns.

Experts thought Tyler was a very good player. Rivals.com said he was the seventh best pro-style quarterback recruit. Scout.com ranked him 26th. Tyler first planned to go to San Diego State. But then he decided to accept an offer from the University of Tennessee.

College Football Career

Playing for Tennessee in 2010

Tyler Bray started playing for the University of Tennessee in 2010. He was a freshman quarterback. He played in nine games that season. His first game was a big win against Tennessee-Martin. He also played against tough teams like Georgia and Alabama.

Tyler got his first chance to start a game on November 6 against the Memphis Tigers. He played amazingly well. He threw for 325 yards and scored five touchdowns. This set new records for Tennessee football in one half. The team won 50–14. The next week, he threw five more touchdowns against Ole Miss.

He helped the Vols win four games in November. This made them good enough to play in a bowl game. They played in the 2010 Music City Bowl. Tyler finished his first season with 1,849 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. Both were records for a freshman at Tennessee.

Sophomore Season in 2011

In 2011, Tyler started the season as the main quarterback. In the first game, he threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns. The team won 42–16. The next week, he threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns against Cincinnati. He even broke a record held by famous quarterback Peyton Manning. Tyler had thrown at least two touchdowns in eight games in a row.

Later in the season, Tyler broke his thumb during a game against the Georgia Bulldogs. This injury kept him from playing for several weeks. The team struggled without him. He came back for the Vanderbilt Commodores game. The Vols won in overtime. In the last game, they lost to Kentucky. This was their first loss to Kentucky in 26 years. The team finished the season with a 5–7 record. They did not qualify for a bowl game.

Junior Season in 2012

Tyler and the Volunteers had high hopes for the 2012 season. Tyler started all 12 games that year. They began with a win against NC State. Tyler threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns. They also had a big win against Georgia State.

However, the season became difficult. The team's defense struggled. Tyler often had to play very well to make up for it. In a game against the Troy Trojans, Tyler had a career-best day. He threw for 530 yards and five touchdowns. This broke Peyton Manning's school record for passing yards in a game. But the team's defense gave up a lot of yards.

In the last game of his college career, Tyler played well against the Kentucky Wildcats. He threw for 293 yards and four touchdowns. The team won 37–17.

Overall, in 2012, Tyler threw for 3,612 yards and 34 touchdowns. These numbers put him high on the list for single-season records in the SEC (Southeastern Conference).

For his entire college career, Tyler Bray is among the top players in Tennessee history for:

• Touchdowns (69)
• Passing yards (7,444)
• Completions (540)
• Attempts (922)

In January 2013, Tyler decided to leave college early. He wanted to try and join the NFL.

College Statistics

Professional Football Career

Kansas City Chiefs

Tyler Bray was not chosen by any team in the 2013 NFL draft. But he still got a chance to play in the NFL. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent.

During the 2013 preseason, Tyler played in three games. In one game against the Green Bay Packers, he threw for 169 yards and three touchdowns. He made the Chiefs' main roster for the regular season. However, he did not play in any regular season games that year.

Tyler spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons dealing with injuries. In January 2015, he tore a ligament in his knee.

In Week 17 of the 2017 season, Tyler finally played in his first NFL game. This was against the Denver Broncos. He came into the game briefly to replace Patrick Mahomes.

Chicago Bears

In 2018, Tyler signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears. He joined his former coach, Matt Nagy, who was now the Bears' head coach. Tyler was mostly on the practice squad. This is a group of players who train with the team but are not usually in the main games. He was sometimes moved to the active roster when other quarterbacks were injured.

He re-signed with the Bears in 2019 and 2020. In a game in 2020, he entered the game after an injury to Nick Foles. He completed one pass for 18 yards.

San Francisco 49ers

In December 2021, Tyler was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. He was released in January 2022.

NFL Career Statistics

Personal Life

Tyler Bray is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.