Jaylen Guy Twyman (born July 19, 1999) 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

and was selected by 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 ...

in the sixth round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Twyman attended H. D. Woodson High School in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

As a senior, he had 91 tackles and nine sacks. He committed to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

to play

College career

Twyman

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his first year at Pittsburgh in 2017. As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he played in 13 games with one start and had 16 tackles and a half sack. Prior to his sophomore season in 2019, Twyman changed his number from 55 to 97 in honor of former Pittsburgh

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons with the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams franchise. He is considered one of the gr ...

. That season he started all 13 games, recording 41 tackles and 10.5 sacks.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Twyman was selected by the

in the sixth round, 199th overall, of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021. Twyman was waived by Minnesota with a

non-football injury Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL ...

designation on July 26. The next day, he reverted to the team's non-football injury reserve list. On August 30, 2022, Twyman was waived by the Vikings. He was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

one day later. He was released on October 4.

Miami Dolphins

On October 10, 2022, Twyman signed with the practice squad of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 16, 2023. He was waived on August 28, 2023.

Birmingham Stallions

On December 24, 2023, Twyman signed with the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He was released on April 30, 2024.

San Antonio Brahmas (first stint)

On May 15, 2024, Twyman signed with the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...

of the United Football League (UFL). His contract was terminated on August 17, 2024, to sign with an NFL team.

New York Jets

Twyman signed with 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 ...

on August 18, 2024. He was waived on August 27.

San Antonio Brahmas (second stint)

On March 8, 2025, Twyman re-signed with the Brahmas. He was released on March 20, 2025.

Personal life

On June 21, 2021, Twyman suffered four gunshot wounds when bullets hit the car he was riding in while he was visiting family in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

References

External links

Pittsburgh Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twyman, Jaylen 1999 births Living people Miami Dolphins players Minnesota Vikings players Players of American football from Washington, D.C. American football defensive tackles Pittsburgh Panthers football players H. D. Woodson High School alumni Birmingham Stallions (2022) players San Antonio Brahmas players New York Jets players