Brandon Zylstra (born March 25, 1993) 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 ...
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
and
return specialist. He 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 ...
at
Concordia–Moorhead. After going undrafted in 2016, Zylstra signed with the
Edmonton Eskimos of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
(CFL). He has also played for the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
,
Carolina Panthers, and
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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
.
Early life
After playing
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 ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
at New London-Spicer High School in
New London, Minnesota, Zylstra did not receive any Division I scholarship offers.
College career
Zylstra played college football at
Augustana University for a year and then
Concordia College in
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moo ...
.
In 2013, during his first year at Concordia, he caught 41 passes for 774 yards with seven touchdowns. In 2014, while working a summer job on the grounds crew at Moorhead Country Club, he suffered a foot injury which required surgery which caused him to miss 1 game. He finished his college career with 1,932 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 29 games with the Cobbers.
Zylstra was also an outstanding
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athlete at Concordia. In 2015, Zylstra helped lead his team to a first-place finish at the Cobber Duals, clearing the bar at to win the high jump, and traveling a distance of to win the long jump. He posted a personal-best leap of in the
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
at the Thundering Herd Classic on February 7. Later in the season, Zylstra came away with the only event win for Concordia at the Cobber Twilight Meet. His 6'9" high jump tied the indoor school-record mark set by Joe Schmidgall back in 2000. He also won the long jump competition with a mark of .
Zylstra ultimately broke the outdoor record at the
MIAC meet, clearing 6'10.75" Zylstra went on to compete for the Division 3 track nationals where he came in with the third best height in 2015. (2.10m).
Professional career
Before the
2016 NFL draft, Zylstra participated in North Dakota State's pro day and at an NFL regional combine in Arizona, posting a 34-inch vertical jump, a 4.64-second
40-yard dash and 16 reps on the 225 lbs bench press. While he went undrafted, he impressed scouts with his athleticism and catching ability.
Edmonton Eskimos
Following college, Zylstra moved to Arizona to train with former teammate
Griffin Neal. While in Arizona, he attracted the interest of CFL teams during tryouts and was signed by the
Edmonton Eskimos to a two-year contract.
In his first season in the league Zylstra made a quick impact, catching 34 passes for 508 yards with 3 touchdowns in only six regular season games. In two playoff games he caught six passes for 108 yards. He was named the Eskimos rookie of the year for the
2016 season. Zylstra had an outstanding 2017 campaign, leading the CFL in receiving yards with 1,687 (225 ahead of second place
S. J. Green). He played a big role in both of the Eskimos playoff games as well, catching 12 passes for 221 yards with one touchdown. He was named a CFL All-Star after the conclusion of the season.
Minnesota Vikings
On January 3, 2018, Zylstra signed a standard rookie, non-guaranteed three-year deal starting at a $480,000 salary for 2018 with the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
. He made the Vikings roster, playing in all 16 games primarily on special teams, and had one catch for 23 yards against the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
in Week 7.
On August 31, 2019, Zylstra was waived by the Vikings.
Carolina Panthers
On September 1, 2019, Zylstra was claimed off waivers by the
Carolina Panthers.
Zylstra caught one of two targets for seven yards in a Week 14 40–20 loss to 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 ...
. In Week 17, against the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
, Zylstra posted a career-high six catches on eight targets for 96 yards. On December 27, 2020, Zylstra scored his first career NFL touchdown after recovering a muffed punt return in the endzone that was mishandled by Washington Football Team returner
Steve Sims Jr. during the first quarter of a 20–13 victory for the Panthers. After the game, Zylstra was congratulated by Washington head coach
Ron Rivera, who was his coach the previous season.
On February 22, 2021, Zylstra signed a one-year contract extension with the Panthers. He was placed on injured reserve on October 19, 2021. He was activated on November 13.
On December 18, 2021, Zylstra kicked off three times in place of
Zane Gonzalez after he got injured in warmups against the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
, averaging 48.7 yards per kick.
On March 16, 2022, Zylstra re-signed with the Panthers. He was released on August 30, 2022.
Detroit Lions
On October 4, 2022, Zylstra signed with 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
, joining his brother
Shane on the practice squad.
Zylstra was activated along with Shane for Week 9 against the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
.
References
External links
Concordia Cobbers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zylstra, Brandon
1993 births
Living people
People from Kandiyohi County, Minnesota
Players of American football from Minnesota
American football wide receivers
Players of Canadian football from Minnesota
Canadian football wide receivers
Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings football players
Concordia Cobbers football players
Edmonton Elks players
Minnesota Vikings players
Carolina Panthers players
Detroit Lions players