Will Tye
No. 45, 82
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1991-11-04) November 4, 1991 (age 32)
Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:Salisbury School
(Salisbury, Connecticut)
College:
Undrafted:2015
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:94
Receiving yards:897
Receiving touchdowns:4
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Wilhelm Tye (born November 4, 1991) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Florida State and Stony Brook, and signed with the New York Giants in 2015 as an undrafted free agent. Tye was the first player from Stony Brook to reach the NFL and played two seasons for the Giants and one for the New York Jets.

High school career

Originally from Middletown, Connecticut, Tye was a standout tight end/kick returner at Xavier High School (Connecticut) in Middletown. Tye then did his final year of high school at Salisbury School where he was labeled a three-star recruit by Rivals and Scout.com and was recognized as the No. 6 prospect in Connecticut and No. 19 tight end in the nation by the latter.

College career

Tye was recruited to play for the Florida State University Seminoles in 2010 before transferring to Stony Brook University for the 2013 season. In two seasons as a Seawolf, Tye recorded 79 catches for 1,015 yards and nine touchdowns.[1]

Professional career

New York Giants

After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Tye was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent.[2] He competed with Larry Donnell, Adrien Robinson, Daniel Fells and Jerome Cunningham for the tight end job.[3] On September 1, 2015, he was waived by the Giants.[4] On September 7, 2015, he was signed to the Giants' practice squad.[5] On October 3, 2015, the Giants promoted Tye to the active roster.[6] Tye became the first player from Stony Brook to play in the NFL.[7] On December 14 during a Monday Night Football game against the Miami Dolphins, Tye caught his first NFL touchdown from quarterback Eli Manning en route to a Giants victory. In the Giants next game against the Carolina Panthers on December 20, Tye found the endzone again in a Giants loss to the undefeated Carolina Panthers. In the season finale on January 3, 2016, Tye found the endzone again in a Giants loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

For the 2015 season, Tye had 42 receptions for 464 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games played. Following the season, Tye was named to the 2015 PFWA All-Rookie Team.

Going into the 2016 season, Tye still had to prove his worth. He made the final 53-man roster and started the 2016 season on the Giants active roster. Tye's statistics regressed in 2016 as he recorded 48 receptions for 395 yards and only one touchdown.[8]

On February 15, 2017, Tye re-signed with the Giants on a one-year deal.[9] On September 2, 2017, the day of final roster cuts, Tye was released by the Giants.[10]

New York Jets

Tye was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets on September 3, 2017.[11] On September 10, Tye made his Jets debut, recording three receptions for 34 yards in the 21–12 loss to the Buffalo Bills.[12] He was released on October 3, 2017.[13]

New England Patriots

On October 12, 2017, Tye was signed to the New England Patriots' practice squad.[14] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Patriots on February 6, 2018.[15]

On September 1, Tye was waived with an injury designation as part of the roster cutdown, and reverted to the team's injured reserve the next day.[16] He was released on September 6, 2018.

Philadelphia Eagles

On November 13, 2018, Tye was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.[17]

Tye signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on January 14, 2019.[18] He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.[19]

Personal life

During his rookie season in 2015, Tye earned the nickname "Baby Gates" because of his admiration of San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and the fact that Tye and Gates have similar playing styles.[20]

References

  1. ^ "2018 Football Roster - Stony Brook University Athletics". www.stonybrookathletics.com.
  2. ^ Schneier, Dan (May 14, 2015). "Giants think they may have found a gem in rookie TE Will Tye". Fox Sports. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  3. ^ "Loading..." nysportshub.com.
  4. ^ Eisen, Michael (September 1, 2015). "New York Giants announce first round of roster cuts". Giants.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. ^ Eisen, Michael (September 7, 2015). "Young players earn their way onto 53-man roster". Giants.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  6. ^ Eisen, Michael (October 4, 2015). "Giants sign TE Will Tye to active roster, release DT Kenrick Ellis". Giants.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "Tye: First SBU player to appear in NFL game". Newsday. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "Will Tye". NFL.com.
  9. ^ Raanan, Jordan (February 15, 2017). "Giants make calls on some free agents, including re-signing tight end Will Tye". ESPN.com.
  10. ^ Eisen, Michael (September 2, 2017). "New York Giants announce 2017 53-man roster". Giants.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Allen, Eric (September 3, 2017). "Jets Claim Four Including Two Receivers". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2017.
  12. ^ "New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  13. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (October 3, 2017). "Jets Waive TE Tye, Release RB Murphy from PS". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017.
  14. ^ "Patriots make changes to the practice squad". Patriots.com. October 12, 2017. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018.
  15. ^ "Patriots sign 10 free agents". Patriots.com. February 6, 2018. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018.
  16. ^ "Patriots Announce Roster Cutdown". Patriots.com. September 1, 2018.
  17. ^ McPheron, Chris (November 13, 2018). "Eagles Swap Out Practice Squad Tight Ends". PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
  18. ^ "Eagles sign 10 players to reserve/future contracts". 247Sports.com. January 14, 2019.
  19. ^ "Eagles announce first wave of roster moves as team works toward 53-player limit". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. August 30, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  20. ^ Lynch, Neal (January 3, 2016). "Is Will Tye aka Baby Gates the Next Antonio Gates?". GMEN HQ. Retrieved February 10, 2024.

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