Matthew McCrane (born September 8, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. 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 ...

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2018. He has also played for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

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 ...

New York Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLi ...

, and

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 ( ...

Early years

McCrane attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Brownwood High School Brownwood High School is a public high school located in Brownwood, Texas, United States. It is part of the Brownwood Independent School District located in central Brown County, and is classified as a 4A school by the UIL. In 2015, the school ...

. While playing for the Lions, McCrane converted on 41 of 44 extra points and 7 of 12 field goals, including the longest in school history at 52 yards.

College career

McCrane attended and played college football at Kansas State for head coach

Bill Snyder William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...

. From 2014 to 2017, he converted 133-of-134 extra point attempts and 57-of-66 field goal attempts. McCrane ranks #2 in Big XII history and #7 in NCAA history for Career Field Goal Percentage. (86.4%)

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

After going undrafted in the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

, McCrane signed with

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Oakland Raiders

McCrane was signed by the

on September 25, 2018. On September 30, 2018, against the

, McCrane converted three of five field goal attempts and four extra points. He converted the game winning field goal for the Oakland Raiders in his NFL debut. McCrane was waived by the Raiders on October 23, 2018, after the team signed Daniel Carlson.

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

McCrane was re-signed by the Cardinals to their practice squad on October 26, 2018. McCrane was released by the Cardinals on October 30, 2018. He was re-signed to the active roster on November 17, 2018, following an injury to

Phil Dawson Philip Drury Dawson (born January 23, 1975) is a former American football placekicker. He played for the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2012 and holds their franchise record for most field goals made, passing Hall of Famer Lou Groza in 2010. He pl ...

. McCrane handled the kicking duties in the Cardinals' 23–21 loss to the Raiders, making all three of his extra point attempts, and was waived the following day on November 19, 2018.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 28, 2018, the

signed McCrane after placekicker

Chris Boswell Christopher Lynn Boswell (born March 16, 1991) is an American football placekicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Rice and was signed by the Houston Texans in 2014 as an undrafted ...

was placed on injured reserve. McCrane made all three field goal attempts and his sole extra point attempt in the Steelers final regular season game on December 30, 2018, in a 16–13 win against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. McCrane was released by the Steelers on May 9, 2019.

New York Guardians

McCrane was drafted by the

in the

2020 XFL Supplemental Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

on November 22, 2019. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Cleveland Browns

McCrane was signed to the

' practice squad on September 22, 2020. McCrane was signed to a reserve/futures contract by the Browns on January 18, 2021. He was waived on May 11, 2021.

Arizona Cardinals (third stint)

On September 16, 2021, McCrane was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. The Cardinals released him on September 21, 2021.

Philadelphia Eagles

On December 25, 2021, McCrane was signed to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

practice squad. He spent time on and off the practice squad before being released on January 10, 2022.

DC Defenders

McCrane signed with the

on January 17, 2023.

References

External links

Kansas State Wildcats bioOakland Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCrane, Matt 1994 births Living people People from Brownwood, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football placekickers Kansas State Wildcats football players Arizona Cardinals players Oakland Raiders players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Guardians players Cleveland Browns players Philadelphia Eagles players DC Defenders players