Terrel Bernard
| No. 43 – Buffalo Bills | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | May 7, 1999 La Porte, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 224 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | La Porte | ||||||||||
| College: | Baylor (2017–2021) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022 / Round: 3 / Pick: 89 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||
Terrel Bernard (born May 7, 1999) is an American football linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Baylor.
Early years[edit]
Bernard grew up in La Porte, Texas and attended La Porte High School.[1]
College career[edit]
Bernard redshirted his true freshman season at Baylor.[2] He played in 11 games as a redshirt freshman and recorded 47 tackles with one sack and one interception.[3] Bernard became a starter as a redshirt sophomore and was named second team All-Big 12 Conference after leading the Bears with 112 tackles and also recording 4.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, and one interception.[4] He repeated as a second team All-Big 12 selection in 2020 after recording 55 tackles through five games before suffering a season ending injury.[5] Bernard was named first team All-Conference as a redshirt senior after recording 106 tackles with 12.5 for loss and 7.5 sacks.[6]
Professional career[edit]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+7⁄8 in (1.85 m) |
224 lb (102 kg) |
30+1⁄4 in (0.77 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.59 s | 1.57 s | 2.63 s | 4.25 s | 7.03 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) |
10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
22 reps | |
| Sources:[7][8] | ||||||||||||
The Buffalo Bills selected Bernard in the third round, 89th overall, of the 2022 NFL Draft.[9] He played mostly as a backup in his rookie year.
Despite missing much of 2023 preseason due to an injury, Bernard was named the starting inside linebacker to replace Tremaine Edmunds prior to the season.[10] In Week 3 of the 2023 season, Bernard recorded seven tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception in a 37-3 win over the Washington Commanders, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[11] In his first season as starter, Bernard played all 17 regular season games, leading the Bills in tackles while also becoming the first linebacker in the league since 1991 to put up at least six sacks, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries in the same season.[12] Head coach Sean McDermott later named Bernard his breakout player on the team after the season.[13]
In the playoffs, Bernard injured his ankle in the wild card round against the Pittsburgh Steelers and was carted off the field.[14] While Buffalo would advance to the divisional round against the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Bernard was ruled out due to the injury,[15] and Buffalo lost 27–24 without him on the field.[16]
NFL career statistics[edit]
Regular season[edit]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBH | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2022 | BUF | 16 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | BUF | 17 | 17 | 143 | 84 | 59 | 10 | 9 | 6.5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 |
| Career | 33 | 18 | 165 | 95 | 70 | 10 | 9 | 6.5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 | |
Postseason[edit]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBH | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2022 | BUF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | BUF | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
References[edit]
- ^ Werner, John (November 18, 2021). "Bernard's leadership unshakable for Bears". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ Werner, John (September 27, 2018). "Bernard bringing accountability to Baylor defense". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ Werner, John (November 14, 2019). "Baylor LB Bernard making crucial impact in middle". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ Gibson, Destine (March 2, 2020). "Baylor linebacker outlook for 2020: Who will help Terrel Bernard back up the line?". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ Moyle, Nick (July 15, 2021). "LB Terrel Bernard leading the way for Baylor". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ Poorman, Jon (April 24, 2022). "2022 NFL Draft: Houston-area players to watch". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
- ^ "Terrel Bernard Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Draft Scout Terrel Bernard, Baylor NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Katherine (May 5, 2022). "Bills LB Terrel Bernard: 'I feel like I have the experience'". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ "MLB Bernard, CB Benford to start for Bills in opener". News 4 Buffalo. September 6, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ Gordon, Grant (September 27, 2023). "Dolphins RB De'Von Achane, Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III highlight Players of the Week". NFL.com.
- ^ Wojton, Nick (January 4, 2024). "Top three 2024 Pro Bowl snubs from the Bills". Bills Wire. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Alfano, Jonathan (March 2, 2024). "'Magnificent!' McDermott Praises Bills' Breakout Star". Sports Illustrated Buffalo Bills News, Analysis and More. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ "Terrel Bernard leaves on cart due to ankle injury". The Athletic. January 16, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Marrero, Nathaniel (January 19, 2024). "Bills Officially Rule Out Four Players vs. Chiefs". Sports Illustrated Buffalo Bills News, Analysis and More. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
- ^ Parrino, Matt (January 22, 2024). "Bills lose to Chiefs (again) in playoff heartbreaker as kick goes wide right (Observations)". syracuse. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
Buffalo was down multiple starters on defense, including middle linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Christian Benford -- and it showed. The Chiefs couldn't be stopped, scoring on five of their first six possessions.