Robert Joseph Tonyan Jr. ( /tʌnjən/ TUN-yən; born April 30, 1994) 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 ...

for 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 ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Tonyan played for 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 ...

for five seasons from 2018 to 2022. 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

Indiana State Sycamores The Indiana State Sycamores are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic teams of Indiana State University. Since the 1977–78 academic year, Indiana State has been a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The Indiana State foot ...

, and 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 ...

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 ...

in 2017. Tonyan has also played for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Tonyan attended McHenry Community High School – East Campus. He lettered twice in basketball and

. As a

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 ...

, he was named all-conference as a junior and senior, and set the school record with 5,000 career passing yards.

College career

Tonyan enrolled at Indiana State in 2012, and started for four years after redshirting his first year. He appeared in 11 games in 2013, starting three as a quarterback. His first career completion was a 57-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, and he completed 35 of 102 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns. His second year, he moved to

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 ...

, where he caught 54 passes for 747 yards (6th in school history) and four touchdowns, including a career-high 172 yards in the last game of the season (seventh in school history). In his 2015 junior season, Tonyan had 40 receptions for 601 yards (fourteenth in school history) and six touchdowns despite starting just six of 11 games, which earned him an honorable mention on the All-

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

team. As a fifth-year senior, Tonyan had 56 receptions for 699 yards (ninth all-time) and a school-record ten touchdowns. He set several career records for the Sycamores, including 20 touchdown receptions, 21 consecutive games with a reception, two games with three receiving touchdowns, and was second all-time to Sam Logan with 150 receptions and 2,047 yards.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

On May 12, 2017, the

signed Tonyan to a three-year, $1.66 million contract as an undrafted free agent. His signing made him the tenth Indiana State football player to reach the NFL. He was released before the season began.

Green Bay Packers

Tonyan 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 ...

of the

for the final four games of the 2017 season, and was re-signed for the 2018 season. He appeared in the first nine games of the season, but was targeted just once before his first NFL reception, a 54-yard touchdown from

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears foo ...

against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in Week 11. He totaled four receptions for 77 receiving yards and one touchdown on the 2018 season. Robert Tonyan

In 2019, the Packers tendered exclusive rights to Tonyan. On December 8, 2019, Tonyan caught a 12-yard pass for a touchdown in a 20–15 win over the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. He totaled ten receptions for 100 receiving yards on the 2019 season. On April 24, 2020, the Packers re-signed Tonyan as an exclusive-rights free agent, putting him under contract in Green Bay for another year. On September 20, 2020, Tonyan caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in a 42–21 win over the Lions in Week 2. In a nationally televised ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

'' game on October 5, 2020, Tonyan caught six passes for 98 yards, including three touchdown passes, to lead the Packers over 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 ...

30–16. In the NFC Championship against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, Tonyan recorded 4 catches for 22 yards and a touchdown during the 31–26 loss. The Packers placed a second-round

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

tender on Tonyan on March 17, 2021. On May 27, Tonyan signed his tender worth $3.4 million. On October 28, 2021, Tonyan tore the ACL in his left knee during the Packers week 8 game against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, forcing him to miss the remainder of the 2021 season. He 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 November 1, 2021. On March 20, 2022, Tonyan re-signed with the Packers on a one-year contract.

Chicago Bears

On March 16, 2023, Tonyan signed a one-year deal with the

. He played in all 17 games for the Bears and caught 11 passes for 112 yards.

Minnesota Vikings

On May 16, 2024, Tonyan signed with the

. He was released on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad. When he did he completed the cycle of signing with one whole division

NFC North The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and toug ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on October 3, 2024. After playing in four games, recording no statistics, he was released from the team on October 22, 2024, in favor of signing linebacker

Bo Richter Bo Richter (born August 13, 2000) is an American professional football linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Air Force Falcons. Early life Richter attended Naperville No ...

. He was subsequently re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on November 29, 2024.

Kansas City Chiefs

On December 23, 2024, Tonyan was signed to the

practice squad. On March 11, 2025, Tonyan re-signed with the Chiefs.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Kansas City Chiefs bioIndiana State Sycamores bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonyan, Robert 1994 births Living people People from McHenry, Illinois Players of American football from McHenry County, Illinois American football tight ends American football wide receivers Indiana State Sycamores football players Detroit Lions players Green Bay Packers players Chicago Bears players Minnesota Vikings players Kansas City Chiefs players