Bryce Petty

Bryce William Petty (born May 31, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Baylor University, and was drafted by the Jets in the 4th round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Petty is a member of the Chickasaw Nation. He attended Midlothian High School in Midlothian, Texas, and was named District 15-4A Offensive Sophomore of the Year after throwing for 979 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2006. As a junior in 2007, Petty threw for 2,042 yards and 16 touchdowns while also rushing for 101 yards and five touchdowns, for which he was named first-team All-District 15-4A. As a senior in 2008, Petty earned second-team All-District 16-4A honors after throwing for 1,507 yards and 4 touchdowns and rushing for 166 yards and five more scores, even though he missed some action due to injury. In the national position ranking among quarterbacks, Petty was listed 25th by Rivals.com, 35th by Scout.com and 54th by ESPN.com.

Petty also participated in track and field at Midlothian, competing in the throwing events and placing second at the 2008 District 16-4A Meet in the discus with a throw of 45.08 meters (147–9).

Petty attended Baylor University and played college football for the Baylor Bears football team from 2010 to 2014. He spent his first three years as a backup. After redshirting in 2010, Petty appeared in five games as a backup to Robert Griffin III as a redshirt freshman in 2011, passing for 43 yards. As a sophomore in 2012 he backed up Nick Florence, throwing for 97 yards and a touchdown in six games. He took over as the starting quarterback in 2013, his junior year. In his first full season, he passed for 4,200 yards and 32 touchdowns with only three interceptions. He also rushed for 14 touchdowns. The Bears won their first Big 12 football title that season and appeared in the Bowl Championship Series game, the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, a 52–42 loss to Central Florida. As a senior in 2014, Petty passed for 3,855 yards and 29 touchdowns along with six rushing touchdowns. He led the Bears to a share of their second straight Big 12 title as they appeared in the 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic, losing to Michigan State. He threw for a Cotton Bowl-record 550 yards and was named the game's offensive MVP. Petty also finished tenth in the 2014 Heisman Trophy voting, receiving one first place vote.

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2015 season

The New York Jets selected Petty in the fourth round, with the 103rd overall selection, of the 2015 NFL draft after the Jets traded up from the fifth spot in the round to the fourth spot with the Jacksonville Jaguars. On May 7, 2015, Petty and the Jets agreed on a four-year, $2.8 million contract .

Petty made his professional debut on August 13, 2015 during the first preseason game against the Detroit Lions where he completed 10 out of 18 passes for 50 yards. In the second preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on August 21, 2015, Petty threw for 168 passing yards with a touchdown. Throughout the season, Petty served as a third string backup behind Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith.

2016 season

On November 6, 2016, in a game against the Miami Dolphins, Petty saw his first regular season action in relief of Jets starter Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was injured in the third quarter of the game. Petty completed 2 passes for 19 yards in his one drive before Fitzpatrick returned. The Jets lost the game 27-23. Due to Fitzpatrick's injury he suffered in the previous game, Petty started for the Jets just a week later (on November 13) against the Rams, where he completed 21 of 34 passes for 163 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The interception came on the last drive, resulting in a loss for the Jets. In a Monday night game on December 5 against the Indianapolis Colts, Petty replaced the benched Fitzpatrick for the second half of the game with the Jets down 24-3 to the Colts. Petty went 11 for 25 in passing, totaling 135 yards, which included one touchdown pass and two interceptions in a 41-10 loss. On December 6, he was named the starter for the final four games of the season. After the game, Jets head coach Todd Bowles said, "The plan was for us to start him the last four games anyway, so we just started a half early." In Week 14 of the 2016 season, Petty notched his first career win as a starter, throwing for a career-high 257 yards as he helped lead the Jets to an 23-17 overtime victory after trailing the San Francisco 49ers 17-3 at halftime. In his third game starting, he helped the Jets keep the game close against the Miami Dolphins in the first half with the Dolphins only having a 13-10 lead. However, in the second half, a lousy effort by the Jets defense led to 3 touchdowns in four minutes by the Dolphins spoiled Petty's contributions, eventually leading to a 34-13 loss. On December 24, 2016 against the Patriots, he injured his left shoulder in the 2nd quarter after tackling cornerback Malcolm Butler after he recovered a fumble by Khiry Robinson in a 41-3 blowout loss for the Jets. Two days later on December 26, he was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

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