4 things to know about Damiere Byrd
The newest Patriot didn't only play football in college.
The Patriots have reportedly added a wide receiver to their roster.
New England has agreed to a one-year deal with wide receiver Damiere Byrd, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Byrd has played five seasons in the NFL, spending his 2019 season with the Arizona Cardinals.
Here are four things to know about him:
Byrd ran track in addition to playing football at South Carolina.
In his college days, Byrd was a two-sport athlete. Byrd spent his autumns playing football at South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium. During the football offseason, he shifted his focus to track.
Byrd was quite good at track, too. He holds the fourth-fastest 55-meter dash in South Carolina history, running that in 6.24 seconds in 2012. He also has the sixth-fastest 60-meter dash in the school’s history, running that in 6.66 seconds in 2013.
On the football field, Byrd caught 68 passes for 1,265 yards and 10 touchdowns over his four-year college career.
Byrd ran a 4.28 40-yard dash during a draft workout.
Byrd’s time as a track runner came in handy ahead of the 2015 NFL Draft.
On South Carolina’s Pro Day, he ran the 40-yard dash 4.28 seconds. Prospects usually get two attempts at the 40-yard dash, but Byrd’s left calf muscle tightened on him and he didn’t run another one.
Byrd was not at the NFL Scouting Combine that year. Had he ran the 40-yard dash at the Combine at the same speed he ran it at his Pro Day, he would’ve had the second-quickest 40-yard dash in his draft class. Running back Dri Archer’s time of 4.26 seconds was the only one faster.
Byrd went undrafted before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2015.
Byrd has experience as a returner.
It’s not a secret that the Patriots had trouble in the return game last season. Byrd could be a solution to that problem.
In 2017, Byrd returned seven kicks for 229 yards in eight games for the Panthers, including a 103-yard kick return touchdown, which is a Panthers franchise record.
He’s also returned 12 punts in his career for 113 yards, averaging 9.4 yards per return.
Byrd had a career year in 2019.
After spending the first three seasons of his career with the Panthers, Byrd signed with the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the 2019 season.
Joining rookie head coach Kliff Kingsbury and rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, Byrd caught a career-high 32 catches for 359 yards to go along with a touchdown catch in 11 games.
Byrd stepped up in two of the Cardinals’ three final games. He had six catches for 86 yards in the team’s 38-24 Week 15 win over the Browns. In the season finale, Byrd had seven catches for 74 yards and touchdown in the team’s 31-24 loss to the Rams.
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