Personal information | |||||||||||||
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Born: | Erial, New Jersey, U.S. | January 27, 1993||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 175 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Timber Creek (Erial) | ||||||||||||
College: | South Carolina (2011–2014) | ||||||||||||
Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2015 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||
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Damiere Byrd (born January 27, 1993) is an American professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Byrd signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and has been a member of several other NFL teams.
Byrd played wide receiver for the South Carolina Gamecocks football team as a true freshman in 2011. After his senior season in 2014, Byrd had amassed 1,265 yards on 68 receptions (18.6 yards/catch) with 10 touchdowns in his collegiate career. [1]
Byrd was considered the fastest player on the team while at South Carolina and also competed for the South Carolina track team. [2] [3]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 9+1⁄8 in (1.76 m) | 173 lb (78 kg) | 29+7⁄8 in (0.76 m) | 8 in (0.20 m) | 4.28 s | 1.51 s | 2.54 s | 4.03 s | 6.60 s | 42.0 in (1.07 m) | 10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) | 13 reps | |
All values from Pro Day [4] [5] |
At the South Carolina Pro Day, Byrd only ran the 40-yard dash once, since his left calf muscle tightened up on him. Byrd, having a track & field background, was able to put up impressive numbers, completing the short shuttle in 4.03 seconds, the three-cone in 6.6 seconds and the 60-yard long shuttle in 10.90 seconds, faster than any other time posted at the 2015 scouting combine. [4]
On May 8, 2015, Byrd was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers. On September 5, 2015, he was released by the Panthers. [6] On September 7, 2015, Byrd was signed to the Panthers' practice squad, where he spent the rest of his rookie season. [7] On February 7, 2016, Byrd's Panthers played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10. [8]
Byrd signed a reserve/futures contract with the Panthers on February 9, 2016.
Byrd made the initial 53-man roster in 2016 but was inactive for the first five games before being released on October 14, 2016. [9] He was re-signed to the practice squad the next day. [10] He was promoted back to the active roster on December 29, 2016. [11]
On October 1, 2017, during the second quarter of a game versus the New England Patriots, Byrd broke his left arm on a reverse play. He was subsequently placed on the injured reserve two days later. [12] He was activated off injured reserve to the active roster on December 2, 2017. [13] In Week 16, Byrd returned a kickoff 103 yards, a franchise record, and scored the Panthers' first kickoff-return touchdown since 2011 which was crucial in the 22–19 win over the Buccaneers, earning him National Football Conference (NFC) Special Teams Player of the Week. [14] However during the second half of the game, Byrd suffered a lower leg injury and subsequently was placed on injured reserve on December 26, 2017. [15]
Byrd entered the 2018 season as the Panthers primary punt returner. He played in eight games before suffering a broken arm in Week 12. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27, 2018. [16]
On March 26, 2019, Byrd signed with the Arizona Cardinals. [17] He played in 11 games with three starts, recording a career-high 32 catches for 359 yards and one touchdown. [18]
On March 23, 2020, Byrd signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots. [19]
In Week 11 against the Houston Texans, Byrd recorded six catches for 132 yards and a touchdown during the 27–20 loss. [20]
Byrd finished the season playing in 16 games with 47 receptions, 604 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. [21]
On May 4, 2021, Byrd signed with the Chicago Bears. [22] In the Week 14 game against the Green Bay Packers, Byrd caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields. [23]
On April 1, 2022, Byrd signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons. [24] On October 22, in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Byrd recorded his first touchdown of the season on a 75–yard reception from Marcus Mariota. [25]
On April 14, 2023, Byrd signed with the Panthers. [26] He was placed on injured reserve on August 16, 2023. [27] He was released on August 25. [28]
On October 19, 2023, Byrd was signed to the Falcons practice squad. [29] He was released on November 22. [30]
On January 17, 2024, Byrd was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad. [31] He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent when his practice squad contract expired. [32]
Byrd signed a one-year contract with the Washington Commanders on May 16, 2024. [33] He was released by Washington on July 31. [34]
On August 12, 2024 Byrd signed with the Buffalo Bills. [35] He was released on August 25. [36]
Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Returning | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
2016 | CAR | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 31.0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | CAR | 8 | 3 | 10 | 105 | 10.5 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 238 | 29.8 | 103 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2018 | CAR | 8 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 138 | 10.6 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | ARI | 11 | 3 | 32 | 359 | 11.2 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 59 | 14.8 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2020 | NE | 16 | 14 | 47 | 604 | 12.9 | 42 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
2021 | CHI | 17 | 4 | 26 | 329 | 12.7 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2022 | ATL | 14 | 4 | 13 | 268 | 20.6 | 75 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | ATL | 1 | 0 | Did not record any stats | ||||||||||||||||
Career | 76 | 28 | 130 | 1,689 | 13.0 | 75 | 7 | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 12 | 0 | 29 | 466 | 16.1 | 103 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
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