Damiere Byrd
 Byrd in 2017 | |||||||||||
| No. 18 – Carolina Panthers | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | January 27, 1993[1] Erial, New Jersey | ||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 175 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Sicklerville (NJ) Timber Creek Regional | ||||||||||
| College: | South Carolina | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2015 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2017 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Damiere Byrd (born January 27, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of South Carolina for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
College career
Byrd played wide receiver for the South Carolina Gamecocks football team as a true freshman in 2011. After his senior season in 2014, Byrd had amassed 1265 yards on 68 receptions (18.6 yards/catch) with 10 touchdowns.
Byrd was considered the fastest player on the team while at South Carolina and also competed for the South Carolina track team.
Professional career
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 9+1⁄8 in (1.76 m) |
173 lb (78 kg) |
4.28 s | 4.03 s | 10.90 s | 42 in (1.07 m) |
10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) | ||||||
| All values from Pro Day | ||||||||||||
On the South Carolina Pro Day, Byrd only ran the 40-yard dash once, since his left calf muscle tightened up on him. Byrd, having a track & field background, was able to put up impressive numbers, completing the short shuttle in 4.03 seconds, the three-cone in 6.6 seconds and the 60-yard long shuttle in 10.90 seconds, faster than any other time posted at the 2015 scouting combine.[2]
On May 8, 2015, Byrd was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers. On September 5, 2015, he was released by the Panthers.[3] On September 7, 2015, Byrd was signed to the Panthers' practice squad, where he spent the rest of his rookie season.[4] On February 7, 2016, Byrd's Panthers played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.[5]
Byrd signed a reserve/futures contract with the Panthers on February 9, 2016.
Byrd made the initial 53-man roster in 2016 but was inactive for the first five games before being released on October 14, 2016.[6] He was re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[7] He was promoted back to the active roster on December 29, 2016.[8]
On October 1, 2017 during the second quarter of a game versus the New England Patriots, Byrd broke his left arm on a reverse play. He was subsequently placed on the injured reserve two days later.[9] He was activated off injured reserve to the active roster on December 2, 2017.[10] Two weeks later, Byrd scored his first career TD on a controversial play. On the 9 yard touchdown pass, Panthers' Quarterback Cam Newton threw to Byrd, who initially caught the ball in the endzone between two Green Bay defenders. After the initial catch, Cornerback Josh Hawkins ripped Byrd's arm off of the ball, causing him to bobble it before re-securing the ball while falling to the ground. Referees initially ruled that Byrd landed out-of-bounds and that the pass was incomplete. Upon further review, Byrd's butt cheek was ruled to have come down in bounds before the rest of his body landed on the end line.[11] Byrd finished the game with 3 catches for 25 yards with 2 TDs. In Week 16, Byrd returned a kickoff 103 yards, a franchise record, and scored the Panthers' first kickoff-return touchdown since 2011 which was crucial in the 22-19 win over the Buccaneers, earning him NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[12] However during the second half of the game, Byrd suffered a lower leg injury and subsequently was placed on injured reserve on December 26, 2017.[13]
On Mar 9, 2018, the Panthers tendered Byrd, who was an exclusive rights free agent.[14]
References
- ^ Fox Sports. "Damiere Byrd". foxsports.com.
- ^ Gil Brandt. "Damiere Byrd of South Carolina runs 4.28 40 on grass". NFL.com. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ Henson, Max (September 5, 2015). "Panthers trim roster to 53". Panthers.com. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ^ "WR Bersin among 10 set to join practice squad". Panthers.com. September 6, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ^ "Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "Panthers sign Wes Horton, waive Damiere Byrd". Panthers.com. October 14, 2016.
- ^ "Panthers promote CB Lou Young". Panthers.com. October 15, 2016.
- ^ Strickland, Bryan (December 29, 2016). "Devin Funchess placed on IR; Damiere Byrd promoted". Panthers.com.
- ^ "Panthers sign safety Jairus Byrd". Panthers.com. October 3, 2017.
- ^ "Panthers sign Zach Moore to active roster, activate Damiere Byrd". 247Sports.com. December 2, 2017.
- ^ Wood, Ryan (December 17, 2017). "Packers notes: Panthers benefit from replay-review touchdown". packersnews.com.
- ^ Maya, Adam (December 27, 2017). "Todd Gurley, Dion Lewis among NFL Players of Week". NFL.com.
- ^ Henson, Max (December 26, 2017). "Damiere Byrd placed on injured reserve". Panthers.com.
- ^ Person, Joe (March 9, 2018). "Panthers tender punter Michael Palardy, 3 other exclusive rights free agents". charlotteobserver.com.