A Buffalo Bills football player just scored a touchdown on national TV, before the 2022 season even started.
Bills wide receiver and kick returner Isaiah McKenzie appeared on “America’s Got Talent” Tuesday night as a singer with the NFL Players Choir. The vocal group, which also features three former Bills players — linebacker Bryan Scott, tight end Michael Gaines and running back Dwayne Wright — performed Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” for celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, and Sofia Vergara.
“Touchdown!” host Terry Crews, a former NFL player himself, shouted from the side of the stage.
Klum and Vergara said yes.
Cowell said he liked seeing athletes that were rivals coming together in the name of music, but asked them to perform the chorus a cappella without a backing track so he could hear their voices together. He was impressed by their energy and how quickly they adapted, giving them “three thousand Yeses” and sending the NFL Players Choir to the next round.
The Players Choir first started in 2008, performing annually at the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. The chorus features more than 60 current and former NFL players, but a smaller group tried out for “AGT.”
McKenzie, 27, told the Buffalo News he was “handpicked” by the NFLPA to join the group, noting that he previously only sang in the car and the shower. “It was pretty cool,” he said.
“Whether it’s football or non-football related, I want to be myself wherever I am,” he added. “That’s the most important thing to me.”
McKenzie, who played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2017, joined the Bills late in the 2018 season. He re-signed with Buffalo in March on a two-year deal reportedly worth $8 million.
Scott played for the Bills from 2007 to 2012; Gaines was with the team in 2007; and Wright played in Buffalo from 2007 to 2008 after being drafted by the Bills in the fourth round.
“America’s Got Talent” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC, featuring a variety of acts competing for a chance to win a $1 million prize. Terry Crews hosts season 17 with celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Sofia Vergara.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (19) walks off the field following a win in an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)