A former quarterback-turned-tight end whose 2020 breakout with Green Bay remains the high point of a well-traveled career.
Robert Tonyan's path to the NFL ran through a position change at Indiana State and an undrafted signing that almost didn't stick. Years after his career-best season catching touchdowns from Aaron Rodgers, he is now a veteran depth tight end continuing to find roster spots around the league.
Path to the league
Tonyan played quarterback growing up in McHenry, Illinois, and only converted to tight end after his redshirt freshman year at Indiana State. He caught 56 passes for 699 yards and a school-record 10 receiving touchdowns as a senior, then signed with Detroit as an undrafted free agent in 2017 before landing on Green Bay's practice squad that same year.
Career highlights
Tonyan's signature season came in 2020, when he caught 52 passes for 586 yards and led the Packers with 11 touchdown receptions, including touchdown catches in five straight games, a franchise record for a tight end. He spent five seasons in Green Bay before moving on to the Bears, Vikings and Chiefs.
2025 season recap
Tonyan signed with Kansas City in 2025 and served as the No. 3 tight end behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray for most of the year. His statistical role was minimal, finishing the regular season with one reception for one yard across 17 games.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Robert Tonyan
- Pro Football Reference: Robert Tonyan
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Receiving
17 games played▶Receiving · career
| Year | Team | GP | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | chiefs | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 | bears | 17 | 11 | 112 | 10.2 | 0 | 24 |
| 2022 | packers | 17 | 53 | 470 | 8.9 | 2 | 24 |
| 2021 | packers | 8 | 18 | 204 | 11.3 | 2 | 33 |
| 2020 | packers | 16 | 52 | 586 | 11.3 | 11 | 45 |
| 2019 | packers | 11 | 10 | 100 | 10.0 | 1 | 28 |
| 2018 | packers | 16 | 4 | 77 | 19.3 | 1 | 54 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Tight End
- Group
- offense
- College
- Indiana State
- Hometown
- Mchenry, IL, USA
- Age
- 32
- Status
- active
