‘He deserves this opportunity’: Damiere Byrd set for NFL debut

Former South Carolina receiver Damiere Byrd is poised for his first taste of NFL regular season action.

The Carolina Panthers placed three players on injured reserve this week: safety Tre Boston, defensive end Ryan Delaire and wide receiver Devin Funchess (all with knee injuries). Starting at safety for Boston will be Michael Griffin, and Damiere Byrd will fill in for Funchess after his promotion from the practice squad.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Byrd would see plenty of action in his NFL debut, and might get a chance at kick return.

“He had a good preseason of good returning punts and kickoffs, so that’s one of the things we want to do is give him his opportunity,” Rivera said.

“He’s worked really hard for us, he really has. He deserves this opportunity.”

The Panthers play at Tampa Bay in Raymond James Stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday on Fox. Byrd, who is from Sicklerville, N.J., has had success at the Tampa stadium before. In the Outback Bowl vs. Michigan after the 2012 season, he had two catches for 63 yards and a touchdown.

He is in his second season in the NFL. He caught six passes this preseason for 111 yards.

At South Carolina, Byrd played in 47 games with 20 starts, catching 68 passes for 1,265 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career.

The Gamecocks won 40 games in Byrd’s four seasons in Columbia.

This story was originally published December 31, 2016 at 11:03 AM with the headline "‘He deserves this opportunity’: Damiere Byrd set for NFL debut."