Brandon Randolph McDonald (born August 26, 1985) is a former American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He was drafted by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Memphis. McDonald has also played for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

, Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

College career

McDonald played Junior College football at Jones County Junior College and transferred to the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

and started two years there. He lettered for two seasons at JCJC under Coach Parker Dykes. He worked as a receiver during his first season and in the secondary in 2004. He also led JCJC in punt returns during junior college. He was an education major.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

McDonald was selected by the

in the fifth round (140th overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut versus the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

on September 9. McDonald had superb performances in games against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

in which he had 3 tackles, 4 passes defended, and his 1st career interception, and the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in which he had 5 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception. He finished the season with 16 games played including 2 starts, 24 tackles, 10 passes defensed, and 2 interceptions. After an injury to teammate

Daven Holly Daven Holly (born August 8, 1982) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Cincinnati and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Holly also played for the Chicago Bears ...

, McDonald started for the Cleveland Browns in 2008. He recorded 64 tackles, 11 assists and 5 interceptions. On December 15, 2008, against the Eagles, McDonald returned an interception, right before halftime, 98 yards only to be tackled out of bounds at the 7 yard line. This play set the record for the longest return in NFL history to not result in a touchdown. Later in the game, McDonald did return an interception 22 yards for a touchdown, The 2009 campaign for Brandon McDonald was a difficult one for him, after being burned many times and eventually being replaced in the starting lineup by

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

Mike Adams who outperformed him. He recorded 55 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 interceptions in the 2009 season. 2009 was also the year Steve McNair was murdered. He was Brandon Mcdonald's cousin. McDonald was cut a week before the start of the 2010 season.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 5, 2010, McDonald was claimed off waivers by the

from the Browns. He was waived on October 26.

Detroit Lions

On October 27, 2010, McDonald was claimed off waivers by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

McDonald was signed by the

on August 20, 2012.

Miami Dolphins

On November 7, 2012, he was claimed off waivers by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

Calgary Stampeders

McDonald was signed by the Calgary Stampeders on July 16, 2014. He was released by the Stampeders on September 3, 2014.

Ottawa Redblacks

McDonald signed with the Ottawa Redblacks on September 15, 2014. Part-way through the

2015 CFL season The 2015 CFL season was the 62nd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 58th Canadian Football League season. The Edmonton Eskimos won the 103rd Grey Cup on November 29, defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 26–20 in Winnipeg ...

McDonald was released by the Redblacks because he committed too many penalties.

Personal life

McDonald was born August 26, 1985 to Lisa McDonald Gant and James Spencer in Collins MS. He is a 2003 graduate of Collins High School where he was a contributing member of the repeat State Champion Tigers (back-to-back) under Head Coach Bruce Merchant. He also lettered in basketball and baseball. He is the cousin of former NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Correll Buckhalter Correll Buckhalter (; born October 6, 1978) is a former American football running back who played for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Nebraska, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in th ...

and former NFL

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Steve McNair.

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bioCleveland Browns bioOttawa Redblacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Brandon 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Mississippi American football cornerbacks Canadian football defensive backs African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football Jones County Bobcats football players Memphis Tigers football players Cleveland Browns players Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Calgary Stampeders players Ottawa Redblacks players Saskatchewan Roughriders players People from Collins, Mississippi 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people