BIOGRAPHY
Tyler Matakevich was born on December 22nd, 1992, in Stanford, Connecticut. He plays linebacker in the National Football League.
In his early years, Matakevich attended St. Joseph High School where he played as a LB and RB. In his senior season, Matakevich helped the Cadets to a 10-2 record, en route to back-to-back state championship titles while as a junior he set the school record for touchdowns in a game with five against Trumball. Matakevich was a 2011 All-State honoree at LB. He also played baseball during high school where he was a 2010 first-team Connecticut Post All-Star, and a 2010 All-FCIAC honoree. After he finished high school, Matakevich committed to the University of Temple where as a freshman in 2012, he was one of just three true freshmen to play in every game and to earn a starting role as a MLB. Matakevich made his first career start against South Florida where he tallied 15 tackles, including 12 solo stops and two TFL. He finished the season as Temple leader with 101 tackles, including 67 solo stops, three TFL, three break-ups, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble, becoming the first freshman in school history to record 100 tackles. He also finished fourth in the Big East in tackles with 9.2 and he was the Owls leading tackler in each of the final 8 games. As a sophomore in 2013, Matakevich led the NCAA with 8.8 solo tackles per game and his 11.4 total stops per game trailed only behind San Jose State’s Keith Smith with 13.3. He recorded his first career interception against Army. He also set school and conference records with 24 tackles at Idaho and his 137 season tackles rank 7th best all-time in Temple record books. As a junior in 2014, Matakevich finished the season with 88 solo tackles as a team captain, which led the American Athletic Conference. He made his first career safety at the University of Connecticut on QB Chandler Whitmer. In his senior season in 2015, Matakevich was the only player in FBS to lead his team in tackles every game. He eclipsed the 100+ tackle plateau for the fourth season, becoming just the seventh NCAA player to accomplish that feat, and became the first three-time captain in program history, along with Kyle Friend.
After he graduated from college, Matakevich entered the 2016 NFL Draft where he was selected in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Steelers and on May 6th, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Matakevich to a four-year contract. During his rookie season, Matakevich played in all 16 games during the regular season, playing mainly on special teams and seeing some action on defense. He recorded a team-best 12 special teams tackles during the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys on November 13th, against the Baltimore Ravens on December 25th, against the Cleveland Browns on January 1st, against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 18th, against the Miami Dolphins on October 16th, against the New England Patriots on October 23rd, at Cleveland Browns on November 20th, at Indianapolis Colts on November 24th and at Buffalo Bills on December 11th. He also saw action in all three postseason contests, recording 1 tackle on special teams in the AFC Divisional Playoff on January 15th, 2017, at Kansas City Chiefs. In the 2017 season, Matakevich played in 15 games and led the Pittsburgh Steelers special teams unit in tackling with 14 stops including two deflected punts during the regular season, while in 2018, he saw action in all 16 regular-season games with his first career start against the Atlanta Falcons on October 7th, totaling 6 tackles, where 3 were solo, on defense and 10 tackles on special teams.
On March 30, 2020, Matakevich signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.
On March 15, 2021, Matakevich signed a one-year extension through the 2022 season.
