Cassanova McKinzy (born November 17, 1992) 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 wi ...

outside linebacker who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Auburn, and was signed by 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) South division. The cl ...

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 2016.

Early years

McKinzy is the son of Joann Brown and Charles Drake. He attended Woodlawn High School, where he 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 ...

for the Colonels.

College career

A 4-star recruit, McKinzy committed to Auburn to play under head coach

Gus Malzahn Arthur Gustavo Malzahn III (; born October 28, 1965) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the University of Central Florida ( UCF). He was the head football coach at Auburn University from 2013 to 2020. During the 20 ...

, over offers from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, Clemson,

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, and UAB. He stated that a reason for rejecting Clemson was because there is no nearby Chick-fil-A. (McKinzy was mistaken; there is one on campus.) He played three seasons from 2012–2015.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

McKinzy was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent following the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

. On August 22, 2016, he was released by the team.

Los Angeles Rams

On January 3, 2017, McKinzy signed a reserve/future contract with the Los Angeles Rams. He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Rams' practice squad the next day. He was released by the team on September 19, 2017.

Washington Redskins

On January 1, 2018, McKinzy signed a reserve/future contract with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He was released on April 30, 2018, but re-signed on August 6. On September 1, 2018, McKinzy was waived for final roster cuts before the start of the 2018 season but signed to the team's practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 29, 2018, but was waived the next day and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 9, 2018. He suffered a torn pectoral in Week 12 and was ruled out for the rest of the season. On October 7, 2019, McKinzy was released by the Redskins and re-signed to the practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired on January 6, 2020.

Calgary Stampeders

McKinzy signed with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

of the CFL on June 16, 2021.

Vegas Vipers

McKinzy was drafted by the

Vegas Vipers The Vegas Vipers are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL (2020), XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. The team beg ...

during the

2023 XFL draft The 2023 XFL Draft, is the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL, and the second draft in that league's history following the 2020 draft. The draft was held on November 15–17, 2022, wit ...

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bio

NFL Draft profileWashington Redskins bio
1992 births Living people American football linebackers Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama Auburn Tigers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Los Angeles Rams players Washington Redskins players Calgary Stampeders players Vegas Vipers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople {{Linebacker-1990s-stub