Tyree Jackson (born November 7, 1997) 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

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 ...

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 ...

for the

Buffalo Bulls The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-Ame ...

and 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

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 ...

in 2019. Jackson has also played for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the XFL and the NFL's

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 ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Jackson attended Mona Shores High School in

Norton Shores, Michigan Norton Shores is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,030 at the 2020 census. History The Ojibwe, Bodewadmi and Odawa Native Americans for hundreds of years occupied the wilds of western Michigan. W ...

, where he was the starting varsity QB all four years of high school. During his career, he passed for 4,491 yards with 50

touchdowns 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 ...

, had 8,149 yards of total offense and had a 24–18 record. He committed to the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

to play college football after receiving offers from

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the United States, U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said t ...

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

and

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

College career

After redshirting his first year at Buffalo in 2015, Jackson played in 10 games and made nine starts in 2016. He finished the season completing 165 of 311 passes for 1,772 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. As a sophomore in 2017, he started eight games and missed four due to an injury. He completed 143 of 237 passes for 2,096 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Jackson returned as the starter in 2018, where he was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year and lead the Bulls to a 10–4 season, a MAC East division title and a bowl game appearance in the Dollar General Bowl. On January 6, 2019, Jackson announced that he would forgo his senior season to pursue a career in the NFL. He was invited to the

2019 Senior Bowl The 2019 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game played on January 26, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. CST, at Ladd–Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2019 draft of the professional National Fo ...

, playing for the South team and being named team MVP.

College statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Following the conclusion of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

, Jackson signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2019. Jackson started the fourth game of the preseason at quarterback and led a comeback to erase a 23-6 deficit with under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

DC Defenders

In October 2019, Jackson was selected in the ninth round in the 2020 XFL Draft by the

. During the first two games, both Defenders victories under starter

Cardale Jones Cardale Jones (; born September 29, 1992) is an American former professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was a CFP national champion, and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth ...

, Jackson's only statistic was one rush for 5 yards. Jackson saw increased but limited snaps during the next two games which were both blowout losses for the Defenders, including a shutout to the previously winless

Tampa Bay Vipers The Vegas Vipers were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Vipers competed in the XFL football league. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment as the Tampa Bay Vipers and were owned-and-oper ...

in week 4. Jackson entered in relief of Jones in week 5, kick-starting a Defenders' victory by going 9–14 for 39 yards and a touchdown, caught by Khari Lee. Within the next few days, the rest of the season was canceled due to 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 ...

. Jackson finished the shortened 5-game XFL season by going 11–18 for 46 yards and a touchdown, and 9 rushes for 28 yards. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Philadelphia Eagles

On January 7, 2021, the

signed Jackson to a reserve/futures contract as a

. During his transition from quarterback to tight end, Jackson was having a very promising training camp, with some believing that he could earn a roster spot. However, he suffered a fractured bone in his back on August 17. 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 September 2, 2021. He was activated on November 6 and made his NFL debut on November 7, appearing in 14 plays on offense and 4 plays on

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 ...

. On November 21, he was targeted with a pass for the first time in his career, but the throw from

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Hurts began his college football career with the Alabama Crims ...

was incomplete. Two weeks later, he started a game for the first time in his career. In the final game of the regular season on January 8, 2022, Jackson caught the first pass of his NFL career, a three-yard shovel pass from Gardner Minshew, for his first career touchdown. Later in that game, he tore his ACL, ending his season. He was officially placed on the injured reserve list two days later. He was placed on the Active/PUP list on July 27. He was placed on the reserve list on August 23, to start the 2022 season. He was activated from the PUP list on November 16. On December 23, Jackson was placed on season–ending injured reserve. Without Jackson, the Eagles reached

Super Bowl LVII Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Confere ...

but lost 38–35 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 April 24, 2023, the Jackson signed his exclusive rights tender with the Eagles for the 2023 season. On August 29, Jackson was released.

New York Giants

On August 30, 2023, the

signed Jackson to their

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 ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on January 6, 2024. On August 16, 2024, Jackson was designated as waived/injured by the Giants.

Washington Commanders

Jackson signed with the

' practice squad on December 17, 2024. On January 28, 2025, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Commanders.

References

External links

Washington Commanders profileBuffalo Bulls profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Tyree 1997 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American football quarterbacks American football tight ends Buffalo Bills players Buffalo Bulls football players DC Defenders players Living people New York Giants players People from Muskegon County, Michigan Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Michigan Washington Commanders players