Vance Coman McDonald (born June 13, 1990) is a former
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 ...
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
who played for eight seasons in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He was drafted by the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
in the second round of the
2013 NFL Draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
, and spent four seasons with the team. McDonald also played four seasons with 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 ...
. 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
Rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
.
Early years
McDonald was born in
Winnie, Texas
Winnie is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chambers County, Texas, Chambers County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,162 at the 2020 census.
History
The town plat was filed in 1895 by the ''Gulf and Inter-state Railway'' officials. The ...
. He attended
East Chambers High School
East Chambers High School, also abbreviated as ECHS, is a public high school located in Winnie, Texas (USA). It is the sole high school in the East Chambers Independent School District. In 2015, the school was rated " Met Standard" by the Texas ...
in Winnie, and played for the East Chambers Buccaneers
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 ...
team. 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
East Chambers High School, also abbreviated as ECHS, is a public high school located in Winnie, Texas (USA). It is the sole high school in the East Chambers Independent School District. In 2015, the school was rated " Met Standard" by the Texas ...
track team. He was a member of the
relay team
A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in running, orient ...
. He also had personal bests of 6.28 meters in the
long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
and 12.53 meters in the
triple jump
The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...
.
College career
McDonald attended
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
, where he played for the
Rice Owls football
The Rice Owls football program represents Rice University in the sport of American football. The team competes at the NCAA Division I FBS level and compete in the American Athletic Conference. Rice Stadium, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home f ...
team from 2009 to 2012 under head coach
David Bailiff
David Edward Bailiff (born May 26, 1958) is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach at Texas A&M University–Commerce from 2019-2022; prior to that he was the head coach at Rice University in Houston, Tex ...
. He earned
Conference USA
Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
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
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
tight end
David Sloan.
Collegiate statistics
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.
The
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
selected McDonald in the second round (55th overall) of the
2013 NFL Draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
. He was the fourth tight end to be selected that year. 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.
McDonald started the regular season as the second tight end on the depth chart, behind veteran
Vernon Davis
Vernon Davis (born January 31, 1984) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Maryland, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers sixth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. In 2009, Davis co-led the NFL in touchdown rec ...
and ahead of
Garrett Celek
Garrett Bartholomew Celek (born May 29, 1988) is a former American football tight end who played his entire career for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State. Celek signed with ...
. In the 49ers' season opener, he caught a 25-yard pass from
Colin Kaepernick
Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt dur ...
for his first career reception during a 28–34 victory over the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
. On September 22, 2013, he earned his first career start against the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
and finished the loss with one catch for six receiving yards.
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.
2014 season
On September 14, 2014, McDonald started his first game of the season during a loss to the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
and made his first catch of the season and only one of the game for 9 yards. He made his only other catch of the season during a Week 6 victory over the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
and finished the game with one reception for 21 receiving yards. On December 9, 2014, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a back injury.
McDonald finished his second season with two receptions for 30 yards and appeared in eight games with four starts.
2015 season
He started his first and only season under new head coach
Jim Tomsula
James Andrew Tomsula (born April 14, 1968) is an American football coach and head coach of the Rhein Fire of the European League of Football. Serving as a defensive coach throughout his career, Tomsula has also been the head coach for the Rhein F ...
as the backup to Davis once again. He started the season-opener against the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
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
Blaine Williamson Gabbert (born October 15, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri before leaving early for the 2011 NFL Draft after hi ...
against the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
. 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
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 ...
.
McDonald finished the 2015 season with 30 receptions, 326 receiving yards, and three touchdowns while appearing in 14 games and 11 starts.
2016 season
McDonald started his first season under head coach
Chip Kelly
Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. He came to prominence as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009 to 2012, whom he led to four consecutive BCS bowl game a ...
as the starting tight end for the first time in his career, as Vernon Davis was traded midway through the previous season. In the 49ers' season-opening victory over the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
, 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
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
.
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
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
. In a Week 12 matchup against 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 ...
, 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.
He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2016, after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 14 against 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 ...
.
Pittsburgh Steelers
2017 season
On August 29, 2017, the 49ers traded McDonald and their 2018 fifth-round pick to 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 ...
in exchange for the Steelers' 2018 fourth-round pick.
McDonald began the regular season as the backup tight end behind
Jesse James
Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...
. On September 10, McDonald made his Steelers debut in a 21–18 victory over 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 his first season with the Steelers, he recorded 14 receptions for 188 receiving yards and a touchdown.
2018 season
During ''Monday Night Football'' against the
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 ...
in Week 3, McDonald finished with a career-high 112 receiving yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, as the Steelers won 30–27. In Weeks 10–11, he recorded receiving touchdowns against both the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
He received an overall grade of 70.2 from
Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
in 2018, which ranked as the 20th highest grade among all qualifying tight ends. Overall McDonald finished the year with 50 receptions for 610 yards and 4 touchdowns.
2019 season
In week 2 against the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
, McDonald caught seven passes for 38 yards and two touchdowns as the Steelers lost 26–28.
2020 season
McDonald was placed on the reserve/
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
list by the team on November 9, 2020, and was activated on November 24.
On January 22, 2021, McDonald announced his retirement after eight seasons in the league.
NFL career statistics
Personal life
McDonald is married to Kendi McDonald. They have three children. McDonald is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and the pair are supporters of
Convoy of Hope
Convoy of Hope is an American nonprofit humanitarian and disaster relief organization that provides food, supplies, and humanitarian services to impoverished or otherwise needy populations throughout the world. The organization also engages in d ...
.
References
External links
Rice Owls bioPittsburgh Steelers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Vance
1990 births
Living people
American football tight ends
People from Chambers County, Texas
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Players of American football from Texas
Rice Owls football players
San Francisco 49ers players
Sportspeople from the Houston metropolitan area