Tyler Ott (born February 28, 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 ...

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

for 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 ...

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

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

and joined the NFL 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 2014. Ott has also been a member of the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. 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 ...

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 ...

, and

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

Early life

Tyler Ott was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on February 28, 1992, to Dan and Laurie (now Applekamp) Ott. He attended grade school in the Jenks Public School system, and would go on to attend Jenks High School. While attending Jenks High School, Ott was a three-year letter winner in

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 ...

and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. During his high school career, he was a three-year captain in football, and a senior captain in basketball and track and field. He threw shot put and discus in track and field, and ended his career with personal records of 50 feet 2 inches in shot put and 148 feet 9 inches in discus. He would play in three football state championships, winning one in 2007 defeating Tulsa Union High School 42-24. He played tight end and long snapper for Jenks High School, and finished his high school football career with 47 catches, 771 total receiving yards, and 7 receiving touchdowns.

College career

Ott played

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, was the team's

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 ...

and

all four years. Though he spent his first year at Harvard as a blocking tight end, he would emerge as the team's primary long snapper his sophomore year, and made his first catch as a tight end against Columbia in his junior season. In his senior season, he became one of the two starting tight ends in Harvard's two tight end offense. Following his senior season, Tyler was invited to play in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

after finishing the year with 15 receptions, 188 yards and four touchdowns. On October 28, 2013, he was named National Tight End of the Week by College performance awards, after catching three touchdowns in Harvard's triple overtime loss to Princeton. His three touchdowns against Princeton tied Harvard's record for single game touchdown receptions. Ott played on the Crimson with future

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 ...

fullback Kyle Juszczyk. He graduated from Harvard in 2014 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and a minor in Environmental Science &

Public Policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

. He was a key honorary member of the golf team once shooting an 87 during his Harvard tenure, where he lived in Dunster House.

Professional career

New England Patriots

The

signed Ott as an undrafted free agent on May 16, 2014. He was released by the Patriots on August 17, 2014. The Patriots re-signed Ott on March 4, 2015. Ott was released by the team on May 5, 2015.

St. Louis Rams

On May 12, 2015, Ott signed with the

after a minicamp tryout. He was released on September 1, 2015.

New York Giants

On December 31, 2015, the

signed Ott to the active roster, after long snappers Zak DeOssie and Danny Aiken suffered season-ending injuries. Ott became the first

football player to play for the Giants. On August 30, 2016, he was waived by the Giants. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 19, 2016. He was released by the Giants on October 25, 2016.

Cincinnati Bengals

On November 22, 2016, Ott was signed to the practice squad of the

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 26, 2016. He was released on December 20, 2016.

Seattle Seahawks

On January 3, 2017, Ott signed with the

to take the place of the injured Nolan Frese. On August 1, 2019, Ott signed a new four-year contract with the Seahawks. On December 21, 2020, Ott was named as the starting long snapper for the NFC in the 2021

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 ...

. On September 14, 2022, Ott was placed on injured reserve.

Baltimore Ravens

On July 25, 2023, Ott signed with the

to replace Nick Moore, who tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during the 2023 offseason.

Washington Commanders

Ott signed a three-year contract with the

on March 14, 2024.

References

External links

*
Washington Commanders profile

Harvard Crimson profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ott, Tyler 1992 births 21st-century American sportsmen American football long snappers Baltimore Ravens players Cincinnati Bengals players Harvard Crimson football players Living people National Conference Pro Bowl players New England Patriots players New York Giants players Players of American football from Tulsa, Oklahoma Seattle Seahawks players St. Louis Rams players Washington Commanders players