Peyton Hendershot (born April 23, 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Early life

Hendershot attended Tri-West Hendricks High School in

Lizton, Indiana Lizton is a town in Union Township, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 511 at the 2020 Census. It is one of the three towns ( Pittsboro and North Salem being the other two) that make up North West Hendricks School C ...

. As a sophomore, he contributed to the team winning the 2014 3A state championship. As a junior, he was a two-way player at

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 ...

, posting 51 receptions for 685 yards, 8 touchdowns, 30 tackles (5 for loss), 4 sacks and 3 pass breakups. As a senior, he tallied 67 receptions for 896 yards and 9 touchdowns. He finished high school with 157 catches for 2,170 yards and 22 touchdowns. He received All-county, All-conference, 6A All-state, Indiana Football Coaches Association Top 50 and Indianapolis Star position award winner (tight end) honors. He also practiced

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 ...

, where he averaged 12.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks as a junior.

College career

Hendershot accepted a football scholarship from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

. As a true freshman in 2017, he appeared in the first four games as a backup tight end, before suffering a season-ending injury and being medical redshirted. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) 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 ...

freshman in 2018, he started in 10 out of 11 games, while rotating with tight end Austin Dorris. He posted 15 receptions for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had 2 receptions for 47 yards against

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. As a sophomore in 2019, he started all 13 games, setting the school's single-season tight end record with 52 catches for 622 yards. He recorded seven contests with 50-or-more yards and six games with five-or-more catches. He had 4 receptions for 70 yards and one touchdown against

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. He made 6 receptions for 95 yards against the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He had 7 receptions for 51 yards against

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. As a junior in 2020, he started all 8 games in a season that was reduced by the

Covid-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. His production dropped after battling injuries, posting 23 receptions (third on the team), 151 yards (third on the team) and 4 receiving touchdowns (second on the team). He had 6 receptions for 34 yards and his first career two-touchdown contest against

. He made 4 receptions for 31 yards and one touchdown in 38-21 win against the No. 23 ranked

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. As a senior in 2021, he started all 12 games, catching passes from starting

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Michael Penix Jr Michael Tarrence Penix Jr. ( ; born May 8, 2000) is an American professional football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). After three seasons of college football with the Indiana Hoosiers that were limited ...

. He registered 46 receptions (tied for team lead), 543 receiving yards (led the team), 4 touchdowns (third in school history for tight ends), one two-point conversion, two carries for 8 yards and 3

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. He had 7 receptions for 100 yards against

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

. He collected 5 receptions for 80 yards against

. He made 6 receptions for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns against the

, becoming the first tight end in school history to have two receiving 100-yard games. He earned Third-team All-Big Ten honors. He appeared in 32 games, finishing as the school's career leader for tight ends with 136 receptions for 1,479 yards, while ranking second with 14 receiving touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Hendershot was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

after the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

on April 30. He made the initial 53-man roster out of training camp as the team's third-string tight end, behind Dalton Schultz and fellow rookie

Jake Ferguson Jonathan Quinn "Jake" Ferguson (born January 18, 1999) is an American professional football tight end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers and was selected by the Cowb ...

. In Week 7 of the 2022 season, he scored his first NFL touchdown on a two-yard reception in the 24–6 victory over 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 ...

. As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 games and started two, while recording 11 receptions for 103 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3

tackles. In 2023, although previous starter Schultz left in

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, the drafting in the second-round of Luke Schoonmaker, put Hendershot in a difficult situation to improve his position on the depth chart. He was the team's third-string tight end behind starter Ferguson and Schoonmaker. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 3 and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on October 12, 2023. He was activated on December 6. He appeared in 8 games with one start, registering 4 receptions for 38 yards. Although he fought to return to play, his ankle injury was serious enough to require offseason surgery.

Kansas City Chiefs

Hendershot was traded to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

on August 27, 2024. On September 17, Hendershot was waived by Kansas City, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 2, 2024. On November 26, 2024, Hendershot was placed on injured reserve. He was activated from injured reserve on December 23, 2024.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bioIndiana Hoosiers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendershot, Peyton 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Indiana American football tight ends Indiana Hoosiers football players Dallas Cowboys players Kansas City Chiefs players