Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard is following up his breakout NFL season with another huge life milestone — an engagement.
Bernard’s longtime girlfriend, Tayler Timmons, took to Instagram on March 29 to reveal that the Bills star had proposed. Timmons posed with Bernard as she showed off her engagement ring, earning congratulations from many of his teammates and their significant others.
Bernard is coming off a career-best season for the Bills, taking over the starting middle linebacker job after the departure of Tremaine Edmunds and becoming one of the league’s best at his position.
Longtime Couple Planning to Walk the Aisle
TMZ noted that Timmons and Bernard have been together for the better part of a decade, starting as high school sweethearts at La Porte High School and then attending Baylor University together.
Timmons noted on her Instagram page that she is a doctor of physical therapy, though spends plenty of time attending Bills games to support her new fiance. The couple posed together on the field after the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in December 2022 to clinch a playoff berth, and Timmons shared images from other games as she cheered him on from the stands.
Terrel Bernard’s Breakout Season
Bernard had a lesser role in his rookie season in 2022, starting one game and making 22 total tackles, but had a breakout in 2023. He started all 17 games, making 143 total tackles with 6.5 sacks, three interceptions, five passes defended and three fumble recoveries.
In a February 27 appearance on One Bills Live, Bills head coach Sean McDermott noted that Bernard hadn’t even played a game at middle linebacker before winning the starting job prior to the 2023 season.
Taking over the position was a big task, McDermott said, and Bernard excelled.
“What Terrel Bernard did, having come from where he came from, I mean he started I think one game it was a year ago as a rookie,” McDermott said. “That was the will linebacker position, it wasn’t even the mike linebacker position the middle position that he currently plays. But there’s so much more that goes into that middle linebacker position, like leadership, in addition to just doing one’s job.”
McDermott said that Bernard rose to the occasion and quickly grew into a team leader.
“And I thought he had a magnificent year, I really did, and not only just on the field but also in terms of his leadership, right?” the Bills head coach said, recalling a moment from the season finale with the division on the line.
“I remember watching, I think it was [Deonte] Hardy had just scored the touchdown against the Dolphins in the game that won us the division,” McDermott said. “I walk down the sideline to address the defense to just say ‘Hey, this is a big series right here’ and I didn’t have to do that because TB was already down there doing that. And to watch the look of his teammates, the look on their eyes was like ‘Hey, we’re with you, we’ve got you,’ and you can just tell that they respect him and what he’s all about. And I think that says a lot about a young player in particular.”
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