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Terrel Bernard (born May 7, 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 ...
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
for 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 ...
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). 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
Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only three private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior t ...
.


Early life

Bernard grew up in
La Porte, Texas La Porte ( ) is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Bay Area of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 35,124. La Porte is the fourth-largest incorporated ...
and attended La Porte High School.


College career

Bernard
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 true freshman season at Baylor. He played in 11 games as a redshirt freshman and recorded 47 tackles with one sack and one interception. Bernard became a starter as a redshirt sophomore and was named second team All-Big 12 Conference after leading the Bears with 112 tackles and also recording 4.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, and one interception. He repeated as a second team All-Big 12 selection in 2020 after recording 55 tackles through five games before suffering a season ending injury. Bernard was named first team All-Conference as a redshirt senior after recording 106 tackles with 12.5 for loss and 7.5 sacks. Bernard was named the 2022 Sugar Bowl MVP after posting 20 tackles and 2 sacks vs. Ole Miss.


Professional career

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 ...
selected Bernard in the third round, 89th overall, of 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 ...
. He played mostly as a backup in his rookie year. Despite missing much of 2023 preseason due to an injury, Bernard was named the starting inside linebacker to replace Tremaine Edmunds prior to the season. In Week 3 of the 2023 season, Bernard recorded seven tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception in a 37–3 win over the
Washington Commanders 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) East division ...
, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. In his first season as starter, Bernard played all 17 regular season games, leading the Bills in tackles while also becoming the first linebacker in the league since 1991 to put up at least six sacks, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries in the same season. Head coach
Sean McDermott Sean Michael McDermott (born March 21, 1974) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL coaching career as an assistant for the Philadelphia E ...
later named Bernard his breakout player on the team after the season. In the playoffs, Bernard injured his ankle in the wild card round against the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
and was carted off the field. While Buffalo would advance to the divisional round against the eventual Super Bowl champion
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 ...
, Bernard was ruled out due to the injury, and Buffalo lost 27–24 without him and several other defensive starters on the field. Bernard was named one of just two team captains for the Bills the following year along with quarterback
Josh Allen Joshua Patrick Allen (born May 21, 1996) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys football, Wyoming Cow ...
, with Bernard representing the defense. He suffered a strained pectoral muscle in Buffalo's week 2 win over 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 ...
, missing the next two games. In his return against the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
, Bernard made two key defensive plays, stuffing a fourth-down attempt by Houston in the second quarter and intercepting a pass intended by C. J. Stroud for former Bills receiver
Stefon Diggs Stefon Marsean Diggs (born November 29, 1993) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins footbal ...
in the fourth quarter, but Buffalo still lost by a last-second field goal 23–20. In week 11 against 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 ...
, Bernard made a game-winning interception against
Patrick Mahomes Patrick Lavon Mahomes II ( ; born September 17, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Mahomes has led the Chiefs to seven consecutive AFC Championship Game app ...
, ending Kansas City’s hopes of an undefeated season. On March 7, 2025, Bernard signed a four-year, $50 million contract extension with the Bills.


NFL career statistics


Regular season


Postseason


References


External links


Buffalo Bills bioBaylor Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Terrel Living people American football linebackers Baylor Bears football players Players of American football from Harris County, Texas La Porte High School (Texas) alumni Buffalo Bills players 1999 births People from La Porte, Texas