Tyler Thigpen

Tyler Beckham Thigpen (born April 14, 1984)

He was the first quarterback to play for the Coastal Carolina.

He grew up playing football in the Newberry County Youth Sports.

College career In February 2002, Thigpen elected to go to Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, The team competed in the Big South Conference of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.

Thigpen and the rest of the Chanticleers' first recruiting class redshirted their freshman year in 2002. In 2004, Thigpen started the opening 8 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Gardner–Webb.

In 2006, Thigpen became the first Chanticleer to be chosen a consensus All-American. He registered a career-high 119 rushing yards at Gardner–Webb, including a 76-yard bootleg. He was named Big South Conference Player of the Year in 2006, when he completed 217-of-339 passes for 3,296 yards and 29 touchdowns, and carried 113 times for 656 yards and five touchdowns. winning three Big South Conference championships. and No. 3 Furman in 2006. He led the Chanticleers to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs and a Big South Conference championship.

Professional career Pre-draft Thigpen was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, but impressed NFL scouts at his pro day (held on March 8, 2007, on the campus of Coastal Carolina) and attended a workout at Clemson University to help raise his draft stock.

Minnesota Vikings Thigpen was selected in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft with the 217th overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings, becoming the first player in Coastal Carolina and Big South Conference history to be drafted in the NFL.

In the 2007 preseason, the Vikings hosted the St. Louis Rams, losing the game by a score of 13–10. The Vikings planned on signing Thigpen to their practice squad after passing waivers.

Kansas City Chiefs

2007 season

Several NFL teams had just two quarterbacks on their active roster heading into the season, including the Kansas City Chiefs, who had just recently released quarterbacks Casey Printers and Jeff Terrell. Vikings head coach Brad Childress was reportedly upset when the Chiefs claimed Thigpen on waivers. As the draft played out, the Vikings chose Thigpen with the 217th choice. The Chiefs lost the game by a score of 24–10. Thigpen finished the game 2-of-6 for 41 yards and an interception. Thigpen was listed as the third-string quarterback on the Chiefs' depth chart at the beginning of the 2008 NFL season and made his season debut on September 14 against the Oakland Raiders, when Damon Huard left with "mild head trauma." Thigpen connected on 14-of-33 passes for 151 yards. Thigpen struggled in the game, finishing 14-of-36 and passing for 128 yards with three interceptions in the 14–38 loss. The Chiefs trailed the Falcons 24–0 until Thigpen threw a touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe just before halftime. However, Thigpen was again awarded the starting position after Croyle and Huard were placed on injured reserve, ending both of their seasons.

I think you adjust to what your players do well... You start out with a system but the system has to be adjusted to the players you have. Tyler feels very comfortable in what he's doing and I think he has given us the best opportunity to move the ball, get first downs and score. We’re rolling that way and we’re not turning back. — Herman Edwards on implementing the spread offense. By changing the gameplan, the Chiefs' offense began to find an identity after swapping their power running game for spread-type formations that best suited Thigpen.

By implementing the spread offense, the Chiefs made a huge gamble, as most in the NFL believe that a spread offense cannot work in professional football.

In Thigpen's second career start, he passed for 280 yards with a 69.4% completion rate, with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the New York Jets, nearly leading the Chiefs to win over the heavily favored Jets.

Thigpen scored his first receiving touchdown the following week versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the game, the Chiefs led 24–3 with a little more than two minutes remaining in the second quarter and seemed headed for just their second victory of the season. The Buccaneers rallied back and won the game in overtime with 24 unanswered points. That gave him six touchdown passes and no turnovers in his previous three games. Thigpen became the first Chiefs quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in four consecutive games since Trent Green in 2005. His passer rating has climbed from 44.3 to 76.9 in the five games following his initial start at Atlanta. Thigpen's three turnovers (two interceptions and one lost fumble) led to 20 points by the Bills. Thigpen finished 15-of-22 for 162 yards and ran for 48 more. After the Chiefs lost the lead to Denver, Thigpen drove the Chiefs all the way to the Broncos' 5-yard line, where his draw on fourth-and-goal was snuffed out by Broncos cornerback Dré Bly at the 1-yard line. Thigpen's first touchdown in the game (to Dwayne Bowe) gave the Chiefs a 14–0 lead over the Chargers, and his second touchdown (rushed in from 3 yards out) gave Kansas City a 21–3 lead in the third quarter. Thigpen threw a career best 320 yards with two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. The Chiefs' offense managed to get only two first downs in the first half of the game. especially after Damon Huard was released. Though Thigpen had earned the right to compete for the starting job, the Chiefs were expected to add a high-end quarterback through free agency or the 2009 NFL draft. Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez voiced his support for Thigpen to retain the position for the 2009 season.

The Kansas City Star reported that Herman Edwards's coaching staff would meet after the 2008 season to debate Thigpen's prospects and whether to keep the spread offense the team adjusted to in a seemingly temporary move earlier this season. Edwards was fired as head coach but Chan Gailey, who implemented the spread offense, was retained as offensive coordinator under new head coach Todd Haley.

The Chiefs acquired quarterback Matt Cassel from the New England Patriots on February 28 for a second-round draft selection.

Head coach Todd Haley initially said that Thigpen would compete against Cassel for the starting quarterback position, but the first depth chart in training camp listed Thigpen as the third quarterback behind Brodie Croyle. Thigpen competed with Croyle for the backup quarterback position,

Thigpen played in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, having one rushing attempt for two yards. He was listed as inactive for weeks two and three.

Miami Dolphins

Thigpen was traded to the Miami Dolphins for an undisclosed draft pick on September 29, 2009. The move came just two days after Dolphins starting quarterback Chad Pennington suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. After spending the first 15 games with the Dolphins as the inactive third quarterback, Thigpen made his first appearance for the Dolphins in Week 17 against the Steelers after both Chad Henne and Pat White left the game with injuries. He scored a touchdown, but later ended up throwing an interception in the end zone during a pivotal point in the game. Thigpen was given another chance to drive the Dolphins down the field with only 40 seconds on the clock, but he overthrew the receiver which resulted in his second interception of the game.

In the Dolphins initial off-season depth chart, Thigpen was listed as the second quarterback, behind Chad Henne. He was listed ahead of former starter Chad Pennington and Pat White. After Chad Henne threw three interceptions in the Dolphins game against New England on October 4, 2010, Thigpen came in and completed 2-of-6 passes for 15 yards and an interception. He also scrambled once for 12 yards. In Week 9, Thigpen was passed over when Chad Pennington was named starter for the rest of the season. However, after both Pennington and Henne went down with injuries in a home game against the Tennessee Titans, Thigpen entered the game and threw for a touchdown pass in a Dolphins win against the Tennessee Titans. Thigpen started next game against the Chicago Bears, but was replaced by Henne the following week.

Buffalo Bills On July 26, 2011, he agreed to terms with the Buffalo Bills on a three-year contract. Thigpen played two seasons with the team, seeing limited playing time as a backup in seven games.

Cleveland Browns

On May 1, 2014, the Cleveland Browns signed Thigpen to a one-year contract. He was released after the signing of Rex Grossman on August 12, 2014. He re-signed with the Browns on December 23, 2014, after injuries to Johnny Manziel and Brian Hoyer.

Career statistics

NFL Year Team Games Passing Rushing 2007 KC 1 0 0−0 2 6 33.3 41 6.8 0 1 18.7 0 0 0.0 0 2008 KC 14 11 1−10 230 420 54.8 2,608 6.2 18 12 76.0 62 386 6.2 32009 KC 1 0 0−0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 1 2 2.0 0 MIA 1 0 0−0 4 8 50.0 83 10.4 1 2 87.0 1 1 1.0 0 2010 MIA 5 1 0−1 33 62 53.2 435 7.0 2 2 73.0 13 73 5.6 0 2011 BUF 3 0 0−0 3 8 37.5 25 3.1 0 1 6.8 1 8 8.0 0 2012 BUF 4 0 0−0 3 5 60.0 30 6.0 0 0 77.1 1 −1 −1.0 0 2014 CLE 0 0 Career 29 12 1−11 275 509 54.0 3,222 6.3 21 18 72.5 79 469 5.9 3

College Year Team Passing Rushing Cmp Att Yds TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD 2003 Coastal Carolina 58 136 705 5 4 92.4 81 282 3.5 3 2004 Coastal Carolina 78 158 1,008 8 4 114.6 55 251 4.6 1 2005 Coastal Carolina 133 246 1,589 11 6 118.2 97 437 4.5 4 2006 Coastal Carolina 217 339 3,296 29 11 167.4 113 656 5.8 4Totals 486 879 6,598 53 25 132.6 346 1626 4.7 13