Opening day countdowns are great. So are player profiles. Here at Musket Fire, we decided to combine them and create a Week 1 countdown-oriented, jersey number-dictated player profile series. Yesterday, we looked at No. 85 Jake Bequette, and a few days before him it was No. 86 A.J. Derby. Because today marks 84 days until the New England Patriots open 2015, we are profiling No. 84, wide receiver Brian Tyms.
A few days ago, this writer made a plea for the Patriots to sign James Jones. However, if Tyms continues to keep up the good work, signing a free agent wide receiver might not be necessary. Apparently, Tyms has been catching eyes during OTAs and minicamp.
It's early--and I've missed some snaps--but I'm not sure I've seen Brian Tyms drop a pass yet this spring.
— Christopher Price (@cpriceglobe) June 16, 2015
Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2012 by the San Francisco 49ers, Tyms has bounced around the league a bit. He appeared briefly on the Miami Dolphins’ active roster in Week 17 of the 2012 regular season, and was elevated to the Cleveland Browns’ active roster in December of 2013. He caught two passes for 12 yards with the Browns in that limited action.
With the Patriots in 2014, Tyms made one of the best catches of the regular season when he somehow snagged a 43-yard bomb with Stephon Gilmore draped all over him in Week 6. On the season, Tyms recorded five receptions for 82 yards and that touchdown catch in Buffalo.
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2015 might finally be the year that the Florida A&M product sees consistent action. Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Matthew Slater and LaFell are locks to make the roster, putting Tyms in competition with Brandon Gibson and Aaron Dobson for the final two spots. Neither Gibson or Dobson present an insurmountable task for Tyms to overcome to carve out a significant role.
As long as LaFell is wearing a boot, however, Tyms will have his sights set on more than just training camp survival. Tyms could possibly leap over Amendola on the depth chart, especially if he demonstrates a consistent ability to stretch the field, something the Patriots always seem to lack in their receiving corps.
Going into 2015, Tyms is one of the more exciting players coming out of the Patriots’ 2014 practice squad. He’s definitely worth keeping an eye on as the summer plays out.
In case you missed them, here are the profiles for No. 87 Rob Gronkowski, No. 88 Scott Chandler, No. 90 Zach Moore, No. 91 Jamie Collins, No. 92 Malcom Brown, No. 93 Jabaal Sheard, No. 94 Chris jones and No. 95 Chandler Jones.