After waiting nine weeks for this opportunity, Jordyn Tyson’s professional football debut could not have gotten off to a more discouraging start.

The New Orleans Saints rookie receiver, who had spent the entire season on injured reserve prior to Sunday’s game against Cleveland, caught his first pass as a professional in the low red zone and turned upfield toward the end zone. As Tyson lunged toward the goal line, Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger punched the ball out of Tyson’s hands.

Cleveland recovered the ball inside the Saints’ 5-yard line, wrecking a golden scoring opportunity.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Tyson said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, no way I did that on my first catch.’ … But you can’t really dwell on it. You can’t change the past. It felt good to catch a couple balls after that.”

Tyson, the No. 8 pick in the 2026 draft, finished the game with four catches for 30 yards. It was a modest total, but he made his catches count. Two of Tyson’s catches moved the chains on third downs, and another gained nine yards on third-and-10 to set up a manageable fourth-and-1.

“He made a lot of great third-down catches, especially at the end of the game,” said Chris Olave. “That was just a little bit of what you'll see from him. I know he's gonna ramp up as he keeps going. He's gonna be a great player for us in the future.”

Tyson’s response to the fumble, quarterback Tyler Shough said, showed who Tyson is as a player — a “no-flinch” mentality.

It also provided a valuable learning opportunity for someone playing in his first NFL game.

“Everybody's keying on punch-outs, and they’re elite at it,” Shough said. “We’ve got to do our best that we can to wrist lock (the ball), protect the ball, whenever we can — and that goes for everybody. So I think that was good for him to feel that first game.

“... You're trying to make a play, nobody's fault in the effort there and that is who he is. But we all got to be dialed (in).”

The Saints limited Tyson’s workload Sunday in his first game back from a hamstring injury that he suffered in an Aug. 13 joint practice against the Jaguars. Tyson said the decision to play him ultimately came from the team, and his snap count was limited with the rest of the season in mind.

He didn’t take the field for New Orleans until late in their second drive. Even still, he was satisfied just to be back playing the game.

“I haven’t had that much fun in so long, and I’m just glad to be out there with my teammates going through what they’re going through,” Tyson said. “… I’m just happy to be a part of it.”