Tyler Bray Admits He Could Have Stayed At Tennessee If He Knew He’d Go Undrafted
By Zach Ragan
May 12, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Tyler Bray (9) throws a pass during the rookie minicamp at the University of Kansas Hospital Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Going undrafted can cause you to question a lot choices you made, especially when you leave college year early to go pro.
Those very questions may be going through former Volunteers quarterback Tyler Bray, after going undrafted last month. Bray recently told the Kansas City Star that he may have stayed at Tennessee had he known he wouldn’t be drafted.
At the same time Bray appears ready to look past not be drafted and move forward with his NFL career, telling the Star “I knew I was going to have to earn my way regardless of if I got drafted or not. I’m just looking forward to playing and hopefully learning the system.”
That quote alone shows progress in the way Bray is thinking now, especially when you consider what he told Wes Rucker back in March about being a backup:
"Well, they’d be paying to do it, so … yeah, that’s fine."
If Bray were to keep that same attitude in the NFL you can be sure he’d be a career backup, if he even stayed on an active roster.
Hopefully for Tyler’s sake going undrafted was a wake up call. Bray has the kind of talent where he could get by on his physical ability alone in high school and college, but that won’t cut it in the NFL.
Bray seems to have the right attitude so far during his short time with the Chiefs. Quotes like these are what you to hear from Bray, if you’re rooting for his success in the NFL
"Every rookie in the draft has got to prove something. We all knew we weren’t going to come in and start. I’m going coming in to battle, I’m going to try to learn from Alex, he’s a veteran quarterback, and I’m going to try to learn a lot from him"
A fresh start could be just what Bray needed. He definitely has the talent to beat out Chase Daniel for the number two spot on the depth chart, but he’ll have to put in the work off the field and not try to simply rely on his superior throwing arm.
Update
Moments after publishing this article Bray tweeted the following.
Another good sign from the young quarterback.
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