| No. 87 | |||||||||
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| Position | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1950-02-06)February 6, 1950 (age 75) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Shrine Catholic(Royal Oak, Michigan) | ||||||||
| College | Michigan | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1973: 1st round, 7th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Paul Christopher Seymour (born February 6, 1950) is an American former professionalfootball player who was atight end for theBuffalo Bills of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theMichigan Wolverines from 1969 to 1972 and was selected as a consensus first-teamoffensive tackle on the1972 College Football All-America Team. He later played professionally as a tight end for the Bills from 1973 to 1978, catching 62 passes for 818 yards.
Seymour was born inDetroit, Michigan, in 1950.[1] He grew up inBerkley, Michigan,[2] and attendedShrine Catholic High School inRoyal Oak, Michigan.[1] His older brother,Jim Seymour, also attended Shrine High School and went on to become a standoutwide receiver at theUniversity of Notre Dame. Both Seymour brothers were inducted into the Shrine High School Hall of Fame in 2009, along with their brother, John, who playedrunning back at West Point.[3]
Seymour enrolled at theUniversity of Michigan in 1968 and played for coachBo Schembechler'sMichigan Wolverines football teams from 1969 to 1972.[2] He played as asplit end in 1969 and atight end from 1970 to 1971.[2] In his two seasons as a tight end, Seymour caught 19 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown.[4]
At 6'5", 250 lbs., he was converted to anoffensive tackle in 1972.[2] At the end of the 1972 season, Seymour was selected as a consensus first-teamoffensive tackle on the1972 College Football All-America Team.[5] He received first-team honors from theNewspaper Enterprise Association, theFootball Writers Association of America, theAmerican Football Coaches Association, theSporting News andTime magazine.[6]
Seymour was selected by theBuffalo Bills in the first round (seventh overall pick) of the1973 NFL draft.[1] He was selected primarily as an offensive lineman to block forO. J. Simpson, but he was converted back to thetight end position.[7] As a rookie, he started all 14 games as a tight end for the Bills and caught 10 passes for 114 yards.[1] Seymour ultimately played five seasons for the Bills from 1973 to 1977, appearing in 69 games, 68 of them as the team's starting tight end.[1] His best game as an NFL player came against the undefeatedNew England Patriots on October 20, 1974. In that game, Seymour caught three passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bills to an upset victory over the Patriots.[7] In five seasons with the Bills, Seymour caught 62 passes for 818 yards.[1]
In August 1978, the Bills traded Seymour to thePittsburgh Steelers in exchange for wide receiverFrank Lewis. However, Seymour failed to pass the Steelers' physical when they discovered that he had undergone surgery on his arches.[8] Seymour was returned to the Bills, but he never played another NFL game.
Seymour currently resides inOkemos, Michigan.