Tyson Barrett Walter (born March 17, 1978) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

offensive tackle and center in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

, Houston Texans,

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

and

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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

. He played college football at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

Early years

Walter attended Kenston High School, where he was a two-way player at

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

and defensive tackle. As a senior, he helped his team finish second in the state playoffs, while earning All-Ohio honors. He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a true freshman, he appeared in the first two games as a backup offensive tackle, before being lost with a shoulder sprain and being granted a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

. Walter was named the starter at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

as a

freshman, replacing the graduated All-American

Orlando Pace Orlando Lamar Pace (born November 4, 1975) is a former American football tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams. Pace played college football at Ohio State, where he twice recei ...

. In 1999, he was able to start in all games, despite missing most of the summer after undergoing back surgery. He missed the 2000 season due to a hip infection. After being granted an additional year of eligibility, he returned as a sixth-year senior to achieve a school record 49 starts (all at

) and earn All-Big Ten honors.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Walter was selected by the

in the sixth round (179th overall) of the

2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

. He was one of three

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

players selected by the Cowboys that year. As a rookie, he made the team even though he was sidelined for most of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

with a high left ankle sprain. He was declared inactive during the first 4 contests and started 8 games at center after Andre Gurode was moved to

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...

. The next year, Al Johnson was drafted to replace him in the starting lineup and improve the center position. Even though Johnson was lost for the season with a knee injury,

Matt Lehr Matthew Steven Lehr (born April 25, 1979) is a former American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. He was selected by the ...

was named the starter over Walter. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he regained the starter position, but suffered a sprained left knee in the second quarter of the season opener against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

, opening the door for Johnson to start the rest of the season at center. Walter remained a versatile backup and was used in four different positions along the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. On September 3,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, he was waived to keep second-year player

Ben Noll Benjamin Richard Noll (born November 14, 1981) is a former American football guard in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions. He played college football at the University of Pennsylvania. Early y ...

on the roster.

Houston Texans

On November 18,

, he signed with the Houston Texans. Although he was a part of the regular roster, he was declared inactive for the last 7 games of the season. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Washington Redskins

On March 23, 2006, the

signed him as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

to be the backup center. He was released on October 24.

Green Bay Packers

On November 25, 2006, he signed as a

with the

. On September 1,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, he was placed on the

injured reserve list 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 th ...

and wasn't re-signed after the season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Tyson 1978 births Living people People from Bainbridge, Geauga County, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio American football centers American football offensive tackles Ohio State Buckeyes football players Dallas Cowboys players Houston Texans players Washington Redskins players Green Bay Packers players