Tyler Kroft (born October 15, 1992) 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 ...

for the

Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...

and was selected in the third round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He has also played 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 ...

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 ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Early life

Kroft attended

Downingtown East High School Downingtown High School is an American secondary school located in Downingtown, Pennsylvania and Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania. Population growth in the burgeoning Downingtown Area School District forced the original Downingtown High School t ...

Downingtown, Pennsylvania Downingtown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 7,898. Downingtown was settled by European colonists ...

. He played

and

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 ...

for the

team. He was rated by

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

as a three-star recruit. He committed to

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 ...

to play

. He is of German descent.

College career

Kroft was

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 ...

as a freshman in 2011 at

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

. As a redshirt freshman in 2012, he played in 11 games and had three receptions for 59 yards and a

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 ...

. As a redshirt sophomore in 2013, Kroft started 12 of 13 games, including a career-best 133 yards against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. On the season, he had a team-leading 43 receptions and 573 yards, along with four touchdowns, and was a first-team all-conference selection. Kroft started 12 of 13 games as a redshirt junior in 2014, but took on a restricted role and reached neither five receptions nor 50 yards in any of them. On the season, he had 24 receptions for 269 yards. He was awarded the "Loyal Knight" award for his willingness to scale back. After his redshirt junior season, he entered the

. He finished his collegiate career with 70 receptions for 901 yards and five touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Kroft was drafted by the

in the third round, 85th overall, in the 2015 NFL Draft. He played back-up to

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

tight end

Tyler Eifert Tyler Gregory Eifert (born September 8, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, receiving first-team All-A ...

. He caught his first career touchdown in Week 16 against the

on a 20-yard pass from A. J. McCarron. He played in all 16 games his rookie season with six starts, recording 11 receptions for 129 yards and one touchdown. Kroft was third on the

depth chart In sports, a depth chart, primarily in the United States, is used to show the placements of the starting players and the secondary players. Generally a starting player will be listed first or on top while a back-up will be listed below. Depth chart ...

behind Eifert and C. J. Uzomah for much of the 2016 season, compiling ten receptions for 92 yards off the bench. Kroft began the 2017 season behind

, but after Eifert was injured in Week 2, Kroft took the starting role. In Week 4, he had six receptions for 68 yards and two touchdowns against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, leading the team and setting career bests in all three categories. In Week 9, he had a career-long 59-yard reception against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

en route to a career-best 79 receiving yards. In Weeks 11 and 12 he had back-to-back receiving touchdowns for the first time in his career, both of one yard; the one in Week 11 occurred after teammate

Dre Kirkpatrick D'Andre Lawan "Dre" Kirkpatrick (born October 26, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the Alabama Crimso ...

returned an interception 101 yards, but committed an unforced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

just before reaching the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

. He finished the 2017 season with 42 receptions for 404 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. In 2018, Kroft suffered a foot injury in Week 5 and missed the next five games in hopes he could return. 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 16, 2018, officially ending his season. He played in five games and finished with four receptions for 36 yards.

Buffalo Bills

On March 13, 2019, Kroft signed a three-year $18.75 million contract with the

. On May 20, on the first day of

organized team activities In the National Football League (NFL), training camp refers to the time before the season commences. During this time, teams sometimes congregate at an outside location, usually a university, to conduct training camp for at least the first few w ...

, he broke his foot during practice, which required surgery. Kroft finished the season with six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown, which he scored during a Week 15 game 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 ...

in the fourth quarter, allowing the Bills to win 17–10 and clinch a playoff spot. In Week 3 of the 2020 season against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, Kroft filled in for injured starter

Dawson Knox Dawson Alan Knox (born November 14, 1996) is an American professional football tight end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels and was selected by the Bills in the third r ...

, catching four passes for 24 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score from

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 ...

as Buffalo won 35–32. Kroft was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on November 14, 2020, and activated on November 19. He was placed back on the COVID-19 list on January 2, 2021, and activated again two days later. Overall, he finished the 2020 season with 12 receptions for 119 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

New York Jets

Kroft signed a one-year contract with the

on March 22, 2021. On November 9, 2021, Kroft was placed on injured reserve after suffering a chest injury in Week 9. He was activated on December 18. Kroft finished the season with 16 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown in nine games, starting six.

San Francisco 49ers

On May 23, 2022, Kroft signed with the 49ers. He was released by San Francisco during final roster cuts on August 30, but re–signed with the team the following day. He appeared in 11 games and started four in the 2022 season. Kroft was the subject of criticism following the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...

against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, as he was lined up on the right side of the offensive line when Eagles

edge rusher Edge rusher, also called an edge defender or simply edge, is a position in gridiron football. The position is used as an alternate term for a pass rushing defensive end or outside linebacker and is sometimes considered its own position entirely. ...

Haason Reddick Haason Samir Reddick (born September 22, 1994) is an American professional football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Temple Owls, and was selected by the Arizona Ca ...

collided with quarterback

Brock Purdy Brock Purdy (born December 27, 1999) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones football, Iowa St ...

's arm, resulting in a

Ulnar collateral ligament injury of the elbow Ulnar collateral ligament injuries can occur during certain activities such as overhead baseball pitching. Acute or chronic disruption of the ulnar collateral ligament result in medial elbow pain, Cubitus valgus, valgus instability, and impaired th ...

that led to Purdy being ruled out for the rest of the game. Many in the media attributed blame towards

Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta ...

's play-calling, citing it as confusing and negligent.

Miami Dolphins

On May 9, 2023, Kroft signed with 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 appeared in eight games with the Dolphins in the 2023 season.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Kroft is married and has two children.

References

External links

Rutgers Scarlet Knights bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kroft, Tyler 1992 births Living people American football tight ends Buffalo Bills players Cincinnati Bengals players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players Sportspeople from Downingtown, Pennsylvania Rutgers Scarlet Knights football players San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from Chester County, Pennsylvania American people of German descent