New York Giants Tyree was selected in the sixth round (211th overall) of the
2003 NFL draft by the
New York Giants. While with the Giants, he was primarily a backup, never catching more than 19 passes in a single season. However, he was best known for his special teams play, earning a
Pro Bowl selection in
2005 as a special teams player. In 2008, Tyree was placed on
injured reserve for a
knee injury suffered during
training camp after being on the physically-unable-to-perform list most of the season. He was released during the final cuts on September 5, 2009.
The Helmet Catch During the
2007 regular season, Tyree had four receptions for 35 yards with no
touchdowns. Tyree made two key plays in Super Bowl XLII. First, he caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from
quarterback Eli Manning, which was his only touchdown reception of the season and also the final of his career. The score gave the Giants a 10–7 lead late in the game. Later, on a third-and-five with 1:15 remaining and trailing 14–10, Manning eluded a
sack and
threw 32 yards downfield toward Tyree. In Manning's words, the ball "floated" high. Tyree leaped and caught the ball fully extended, bringing it down against his helmet with his right hand, while the
New England Patriots'
Rodney Harrison pulled violently downward on that arm, simultaneously wrenching Tyree arching backwards towards the turf. Tyree, who got a second hand on the ball during the descent, seemingly kept the ball only inches from the turf, thereafter struggling successfully for possession while Harrison tried to steal the ball away from him on the ground. The play became known as the "
Helmet Catch". "I told you. He's a gamer," Manning commented to his brother,
Peyton, regarding Tyree, after the game.
ESPN SportsCenter named it the greatest play in
Super Bowl history the following day. It was later voted for the 2008
ESPY Award for Play of the Year. The pass moved the Giants to the Patriots' 24-yard line with 59 seconds left. Four plays and 24 seconds later, Manning threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to
Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown. The final score of Super Bowl XLII was Giants 17, Patriots 14. Tyree dedicated this catch, the last one he ever made in an NFL game, to his mother, Thelma, who died of a
heart attack that year.
Baltimore Ravens Tyree was signed by the
Baltimore Ravens on October 13, 2009, after working out with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He appeared in ten games with the Ravens, but had no receptions.
Retirement Tyree signed a one-day contract with the Giants to announce his retirement from the NFL as a Giant on July 29, 2010. On February 5, 2012, he watched from the Giants sideline as his former team beat the Patriots again in
Super Bowl XLVI. On July 22, 2014, he was named Director of Player Development for the Giants. ==Personal life==