Tyvon Branch
{{Short description|American football player (born 1986)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Tyvon Branch
| image = Tyvon Branch.JPG
| caption = Branch with the Oakland Raiders in 2009
| current_team =
| number = 33, 27
| position = Strong safety
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|12|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Syracuse, New York, U.S.
| high_school = Cicero – North Syracuse (NY)
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lbs = 210
| college = Connecticut
| draftyear = 2008
| draftround = 4
| draftpick = 100
| pastteams = * Oakland Raiders ({{NFL Year|2008}}–{{NFL Year|2014}})
- Kansas City Chiefs ({{NFL Year|2015}})
- Arizona Cardinals ({{NFL Year|2016}}–{{NFL Year|2017}})
| status =
| highlights = * Second-team All-Big East (2007)
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 615
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 9.0
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 = 4
| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4 = 5
| statlabel5 = Interceptions
| statvalue5 = 5
| statlabel6 = Defensive touchdowns
| statvalue6 = 3
| pfr = BranTy99
}}
Tyvon A. Branch (born December 11, 1986) is an American former professional football safety. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL draft, and also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at Connecticut.
Early life
Branch was born in Syracuse, New York. He played youth football as a member of the Sherman Park Bulldogs, winning two Pop Warner NY State championships. He was a two-sport athlete in high school playing football and running track, first at Nottingham before transferring to Cicero-North Syracuse. In football, he played running back for the Cicero Northstars. In track, Branch won the 2004 All-State Championships and was named Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year as a senior.[https://www.greatersyracusesportshalloffame.com/tyvonbranch Greater Syracuse Sports Hall Of Fame.com]. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
College career
After high school graduation, Branch committed to the University of Connecticut in 2004, where he played free safety as a member of the UConn Huskies during his freshman and sophomore seasons. In his junior season in 2006, he was assigned to play cornerback.[https://uconnhuskies.com/sports/football/roster/tyvon-branch/3290 UConn Huskies Profile]. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
Branch played in all 48 games during his time at UConn, playing as a member of special teams during the early phase of his college career before he was assigned to secondary postings. Branch mostly distinguished himself in kick returns earning 2nd-team all-conference accolades in his senior season. Branch and the Huskies played in two championships including the Hula Bowl.
Professional career
{{nfl predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 0
| weight = 204
| dash = 4.31
| ten split = 1.43
| twenty split = 2.49
| shuttle = 4.40
| cone drill =
| vertical = 38
| broad ft = 10
| broad in = 0
| bench = 19
| wonderlic =
| arm span =
| hand span =
| note = All values from NFL Combine
}}
=Oakland Raiders=
The Oakland Raiders selected Branch in the fourth round (100th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2008 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2008/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} The Raiders chose to draft Branch not only by his skills as a corner, but also his importance as a return specialist, due to the departure of all-time return leader Chris Carr.
During his rookie season on September 14, 2008, Branch intercepted Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard for his first career interception. Branch earned his first career start in the 2009 season opener on September 14 in a Monday night game against the San Diego Chargers, but was placed on season-ending injured reserve on November 5 with a shoulder injury.
He went on to have a breakout season for the Raiders in 2009 as the starting strong safety in all 16 games, finishing with 98 unassisted tackles and 26 assists, two forced fumbles, and a sack. He had his best game of the year in a win over the heavily favored Bengals with 12 tackles and a forced fumble. During the 2010 NFL season, he again started in all 16 games for an 8-8 team, recording 81 unassisted tackles and 23 assists.
In March 2012, the Raiders placed a franchise tag on Branch. On July 14, 2012, Branch signed a four-year, $26.6 million contract with the Raiders.{{cite web | url=http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/4871/tyvon-branch | title=Tyvon Branch {{!}} Defensive Back | publisher=rotoworld.com | date=July 14, 2012 | access-date=July 15, 2012}}{{cite news|work=USAToday.com|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/raiders/story/2012-07-15/raiders-branch/56238610/1|title=Safety Tyvon Branch agrees to 4-year contract with Raiders|date=July 15, 2012|access-date=June 26, 2014}} On November 9, Branch was fined $15,750 for unnecessary roughness against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.{{cite web|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/fines-roundup-michael-vick-of-eagles-docked-for-low-block-0ap1000000092531|title=Fines roundup: Michael Vick of Eagles docked for low block|work=National Football League|date=November 9, 2012|access-date=November 9, 2012}}
=Kansas City Chiefs=
On March 10, 2015, Branch signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.{{cite web|last1=Rosenthal|first1=Gregg|title=Chiefs sign Tyvon Branch to one-year deal|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/chiefs-sign-tyvon-branch-to-one-year-deal-0ap3000000477649|work=NFL.com|access-date=March 10, 2015}}
=Arizona Cardinals=
On March 9, 2016, Branch signed a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals worth $8 million with $5 million guaranteed until 2018.{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=Zac|title= Cardinals sign Tyvon Branch to two-year deal|url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/03/09/cardinals-sign-tyvon-branch-to-two-year-deal/|publisher=nbcsports.com|access-date=March 9, 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/arizona-cardinals/tyvon-branch/|title=Tyvon Branch|last=Spotrac.com|website=Spotrac.com|access-date=March 11, 2016}} He was placed on injured reserve on October 4, 2016, with a groin injury.{{cite web|title=Chris Johnson, Tyvon Branch To IR; Butler Cut|url=http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Chris-Johnson-Tyvon-Branch-To-IR-Butler-Cut/a3a64d8b-e7f6-4089-869e-81f4217dd19d|author=Urban, Darren|website=AZCardinals.com|date=October 4, 2016}} He was activated off injured reserve on December 2, 2016, prior to Week 13.{{cite web|title=Cardinals' Tyvon Branch: Officially activated from injured reserve|url=http://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/cardinals-tyvon-branch-officially-activated-from-injured-reserve/|website=CBSSports.com|date=December 2, 2016}} He was placed back on injured reserve on December 13, 2016, after re-injuring his groin.{{cite web|title=Cardinals Switch Punters, Sign Scooby Wright|url=http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Cardinals-Switch-Punters-Sign-Scooby-Wright/020ef8dd-ad77-4859-be4a-713e043ce08b|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823115515/http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Cardinals-Switch-Punters-Sign-Scooby-Wright/020ef8dd-ad77-4859-be4a-713e043ce08b|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 23, 2017|author=Urban, Darren|website=AZCardinals.com|date=December 13, 2016}}
Branch entered the 2017 as the Cardinals' starting strong safety. During Thursday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks on November 9, 2017, Branch suffered a torn ACL, ending his 2017 season.{{cite web|title=Injuries: Cards safety Tyvon Branch suffers torn ACL|url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000874961/article/injuries-cards-safety-tyvon-branch-suffers-torn-acl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111030229/http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000874961/article/injuries-cards-safety-tyvon-branch-suffers-torn-acl|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 11, 2017|website=NFL.com|access-date=November 10, 2017}}{{cite web|title=D.J. Humphries, Tyvon Branch Done For Season|url=http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/DJ-Humphries-Tyvon-Branch-Done-For-Season/bcd5eb1e-c9fa-4883-aa7d-ca7f548f9b3a|author=Odegard, Kyle|website=AZCardinals.com|date=November 10, 2017}}
NFL career statistics
| class= "wikitable" float="left" border="1" style="text-align:center; width:45%;" | ||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Tackles ! colspan="4"| Interceptions ! colspan="4"| Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | PD | Int | Yards | TD | FF | FR | Yards | TD | |
| 2008 | OAK
| 8 || 0 || 10 || 8 || 2 || 0.0 || 1 || 1 || 36 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2009 | OAK
| 16 || 16 || 124 || 98 || 26 || 1.0 || 8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | OAK
| 16 || 16 || 103 || 80 || 23 || 4.0 || 2 || 1 || 15 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 76 || 1 | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | OAK
| 16 || 16 || 109 || 80 || 29 || 1.0 || 4 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | OAK
| 14 || 14 || 94 || 74 || 20 || 0.0 || 3 || 1 || 11 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2013 | OAK
| 2 || 2 || 5 || 4 || 1 || 1.0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | OAK
| 3 || 3 || 30 || 23 || 7 || 1.0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | KAN
| 16 || 1 || 43 || 35 || 8 || 1.0 || 4 || 1 || 38 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 73 || 1 | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | ARI
| 6 || 5 || 28 || 25 || 3 || 0.0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | ARI
| 9 || 9 || 69 || 54 || 15 || 0.0 || 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| Career{{Cite pro-football-reference |name=Tyvon Branch|id=B/BranTy99 |accessdate=January 26, 2022}} | 106 | 82 | 615 | 481 | 134 | 9.0 | 33 | 5 | 100 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 149 | 2 |
Personal life
After undergoing season-ending surgery, Branch retired from football in 2017. He lives with his family in his hometown of Syracuse, New York. Upon retiring, Branch devoted time to charitable work including distributing food and clothing to families in need. He co-founded a free youth camp called Central New York (CNY) Football Academy. In 2021, Branch was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{commons category|Tyvon Branch}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150311202841/http://www.kcchiefs.com/team/roster/tyvon-branch/6711a57e-8ee1-4c84-a52d-dfb94d15c12c/ Kansas City Chiefs bio]
- [http://www.raiders.com/team/roster/Tyvon-Branch/3441e429-d41b-4b3d-9c42-1522743b3d21 Oakland Raiders bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814224536/http://www.raiders.com/team/roster/Tyvon-Branch/3441e429-d41b-4b3d-9c42-1522743b3d21 |date=August 14, 2012 }}
- [https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/11334/tyvon-branch Tyvon Branch profile on ESPN.com]
{{Raiders2008DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Tyvon}}
Category:Players of American football from Syracuse, New York
Category:American football cornerbacks
Category:American football safeties
Category:American football return specialists
Category:UConn Huskies football players
Category:Oakland Raiders players