Vance McDonald

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Vance McDonald
refer to caption
McDonald in 2019
No. 89
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1990-06-13) June 13, 1990 (age 31)
Winnie, Texas
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:267 lb (121 kg)
Career information
High school:East Chambers (Winnie, Texas)
College:Rice
NFL Draft:2013 / Round: 2 / Pick: 55
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-C-USA (2012)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:181
Receiving yards:2,036
Receiving touchdowns:15
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Vance Coman McDonald (born June 13, 1990) is a former American football tight end who played for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and spent four seasons with the team. McDonald also played four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Rice.

Early years[]

McDonald was born in Winnie, Texas. He attended East Chambers High School in Winnie, and played for the East Chambers Buccaneers high school football team.[1] He was a three-year letterman, earning all-district 24-2A honors as both a tight end and defensive end as a senior. East Chambers won district titles in both his junior and senior year. He also competed in basketball and was a standout athlete for the East Chambers High School track team. He was a member of the relay team. He also had personal bests of 6.28 meters in the long jump and 12.53 meters in the triple jump.[2]

College career[]

McDonald attended Rice University, where he played for the Rice Owls football team from 2009 to 2012 under head coach David Bailiff.[3][4] He earned Conference USA All-Freshman honors after catching 12 passes in his first season. As a sophomore, he posted a career-high eight touchdowns, to go along with 396 yards receiving on 28 receptions. In his final two seasons, he recorded 999 receiving yards on 80 receptions and seven touchdowns. He was a first-team All-C-USA selection at tight end as a senior.

McDonald's position coach at Rice was former NFL Pro Bowl tight end David Sloan.[5]

Collegiate statistics[]

Vance McDonald
Year School Conf Class Pos G Rec Yds Avg TD
2009 Rice CUSA FR TE 10 12 118 9.8 0
2010 Rice CUSA SO TE 10 28 396 14.1 8
2011 Rice CUSA JR TE 12 43 532 12.4 5
2012 Rice CUSA SR TE 10 36 458 12.7 2
Career Rice 119 1,504 12.6 15

Professional career[]

San Francisco 49ers[]

2013 season[]

Coming out of college, McDonald was projected by many analysts to be a second- to third-round selection. He was ranked the fourth-best tight end out of the 97 available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. McDonald was invited to the NFL Combine and was able to complete all the required workouts and positional drills. At Rice's Pro Day, he stood on his combine numbers and only participated in positional drills.

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4+1⁄8 in
(1.93 m) 		267 lb
(121 kg) 		34+3⁄8 in
(0.87 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.69 s 1.71 s 2.81 s 4.53 s 7.08 s 33+1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		 9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)		 31 reps
All values from NFL Draft[6][7]

The San Francisco 49ers selected McDonald in the second round (55th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.[8] He was the fourth tight end to be selected that year.[9] On May 24, 2013, the 49ers signed McDonald to a four-year, $3.59 million rookie contract with $1.92 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $997,584.[10]

McDonald started the regular season as the second tight end on the depth chart, behind veteran Vernon Davis and ahead of Garrett Celek. In the 49ers' season opener, he caught a 25-yard pass from Colin Kaepernick for his first career reception during a 28–34 victory over the Green Bay Packers.[11] On September 22, 2013, he earned his first career start against the Indianapolis Colts and finished the loss with one catch for six receiving yards.[12]

He had a total of eight receptions for 119 receiving yards while appearing in 15 games and starting four of them during his rookie season.[13]

2014 season[]

On September 14, 2014, McDonald started his first game of the season during a loss to the Chicago Bears and made his first catch of the season and only one of the game for 9 yards.[14] He made his only other catch of the season during a Week 6 victory over the St. Louis Rams and finished the game with one reception for 21 receiving yards.[15] On December 9, 2014, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a back injury.[16]

McDonald finished his second season with two receptions for 30 yards and appeared in eight games with four starts.[17]

2015 season[]

He started his first and only season under new head coach Jim Tomsula as the backup to Davis once again.[18] He started the season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings and made one reception for 5 yards during the victory. On November 22, 2015, McDonald caught his first NFL touchdown, a 19-yard pass from Blaine Gabbert against the Seattle Seahawks. The next game, McDonald made a season-high six catches for 71 receiving yards and a touchdown during a 19–13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

McDonald finished the 2015 season with 30 receptions, 326 receiving yards, and three touchdowns while appearing in 14 games and 11 starts.[17]

2016 season[]

Vance McDonald in 2016

McDonald started his first season under head coach Chip Kelly as the starting tight end for the first time in his career, as Vernon Davis was traded midway through the previous season.[19][20] In the 49ers' season-opening victory over the Los Angeles Rams, McDonald caught two passes, one for 14 yards and an 8-yard touchdown from Blaine Gabbert. The next game, he caught a career-long 75-yard touchdown from Gabbert, during a 46–27 loss to the Carolina Panthers.[17][21] On November 6, 2016, McDonald caught three passes for 85 yards and scored a 65-yard touchdown during a 41–23 loss to the New Orleans Saints. In a Week 12 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, he made four receptions for 60 yards during the 31–24 loss.

On December 9, 2016, the 49ers signed McDonald to a five-year, $35 million extension that included $16 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $7 million.[10][22][23] He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2016, after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 14 against the New York Jets.[24]

Pittsburgh Steelers[]

2017 season[]

On August 29, 2017, the 49ers traded McDonald and their 2018 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for the Steelers' 2018 fourth-round pick.[25]

McDonald began the regular season as the backup tight end behind Jesse James.[26] On September 10, McDonald made his Steelers debut in a 21–18 victory over the Cleveland Browns.[27] In his first season with the Steelers, he recorded 14 receptions for 188 receiving yards and a touchdown.[28]

2018 season[]

During Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, McDonald finished with a career-high 112 receiving yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, as the Steelers won 30–27.[29] In Weeks 10–11, he recorded receiving touchdowns against both the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.[30][31]

He received an overall grade of 70.2 from Pro Football Focus in 2018, which ranked as the 20th highest grade among all qualifying tight ends.[32] Overall McDonald finished the year with 50 receptions for 610 yards and 4 touchdowns.

2019 season[]

In week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, McDonald caught seven passes for 38 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers lost 26–28.[33]

2020 season[]

McDonald was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 9, 2020,[34] and was activated on November 24.[35]

On January 22, 2021, McDonald announced his retirement after eight seasons in the league.[36]

NFL career statistics[]

Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2013 SF 15 4 8 119 14.9 25 0
2014 SF 8 4 2 30 15.0 21 0
2015 SF 14 11 30 326 10.9 36 3
2016 SF 11 11 24 391 16.3 75T 4
2017 PIT 10 7 14 188 13.4 28 1
2018 PIT 15 14 50 610 12.2 75T 4
2019 PIT 14 14 38 273 7.2 22 3
2020 PIT 14 12 15 99 6.6 15 0
Total 101 77 181 2,036 11.3 75 15

Personal life[]

McDonald is married to Kendi McDonald. They have three children. McDonald is a Christian and the pair are supporters of Convoy of Hope.[37]

References[]

  1. ^ "Different paths led Thomas, McDonald to similar dream". Beaumont Enterprise. September 11, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  2. ^ "footballtalentadvisors.com". footballtalentadvisors.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  3. ^ "Vance McDonald College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  4. ^ "McDonald's return helps Owls' bowl bid hopes". Houston Chronicle. November 24, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  5. ^ "Opening Eyes in Mobile – The Sideline View". thesidelineview.com.
  6. ^ "NFL Draft Prospect Profile - Vance McDonald". nfl.com. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  7. ^ "Rice TE Vance McDonald : 2013 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  8. ^ "Vance McDonald selected by 49ers". SB Nation.
  9. ^ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Spotrac.com: Vance McDonald contracts". spotrac.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  11. ^ "Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers - September 8th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  12. ^ "Indianapolis Colts at San Francisco 49ers - September 22nd, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  13. ^ "Vance McDonald 2013 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers - September 14th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  15. ^ "San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams - October 13th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  16. ^ "49ers Activate NaVorro Bowman, Place Vance McDonald on IR". 49ers.com. December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c "NFL Player Profile: Vance McDonald". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  18. ^ "Jim Tomsula Named 49ers Head Coach". CBS San Francisco. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  19. ^ "NFL notebook: 49ers name Chip Kelly new head coach". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  20. ^ "Vernon Davis traded by 49ers to Denver Broncos". NFL.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  21. ^ "Anatomy of a Play: Vance McDonald's 75-yard Touchdown Catch". www.49ers.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  22. ^ "49ers Sign TE Vance McDonald to a Five-year Contract Extension". 49ers.com. December 9, 2016.
  23. ^ Meyer, Max (December 9, 2016). "Niners sign tight end Vance McDonald to extension". NFL.com.
  24. ^ "49ers Place TE Vance McDonald on IR; Claim OL Josh Allen". 49ers.com. December 12, 2016.
  25. ^ Varley, Teresa (August 29, 2017). "Steelers trade for McDonald". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  26. ^ "Steelers' Vance McDonald, Jesse James set goal to be NFL's best TE tandem". ESPN.com. September 20, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  27. ^ "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns - September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  28. ^ "Vance McDonald 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  29. ^ "Steelers' Vance McDonald: Career-high 112 yards in win". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  30. ^ "Panthers pressured early and often in 52-21 loss to Steelers". www.panthers.com. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  31. ^ Defeo, Anthony (November 20, 2018). "Vance McDonald's late TD catch wasn't just athletic, it was ridiculously timely". Behind the Steel Curtain. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  32. ^ "Pro Football Focus: Vance McDonald". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  33. ^ "Wilson, Seahawks edge Steelers 28-26 as Roethlisberger exits". www.espn.com. September 15, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  34. ^ Varley, Teresa (November 9, 2020). "McDonald placed on Reserve/COVID-19 List". Steelers.com. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  35. ^ Varley, Teresa (November 24, 2020). "Steelers activate McDonald; make other roster moves". Steelers.com. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  36. ^ Batko, Brian (January 22, 2021). "Vance McDonald retires from NFL after four years with Steelers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  37. ^ Ackerman, Jon. "Tight end Vance McDonald honored by Steelers for selfless work with Convoy of Hope". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved December 13, 2020.

External links[]

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