Jeremiah McKinnon (born June 29, 1993) 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 wi ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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 ...

for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, New York Giants,

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 (A ...

and

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 play ...

. He also was a member of the New York Guardians in the XFL. He played college football at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

Early years

McKinnon attended Miami Southridge, where he played as a

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 ...

, wide receiver and kick returner. As a senior, he posted over 1,000 all-purpose yards and 7 touchdowns, while contributing to the team winning the district championship and reaching the 2011 Class 8A Regional Finals. He received Miami Herald Class 8A-6A All-Dade and second-team Class 8A All-State honors. He also competed in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

and

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 ...

College career

McKinnon accepted a football scholarship from

. As a true freshman, he appeared in 11 games with one start. He was a backup

and focused mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He tallied 10 tackles, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. As a sophomore, he appeared in 5 games with 2 starts. He had one tackle, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. As a junior, he appeared in all 12 games with 9 starts. He registered 37 tackles (2 for loss), 2 interceptions, 5 passes defensed, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. He had 7 tackles and a

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

against the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

. He made 6 tackles (one for loss) against the

University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas. With over 34,000 students across its four campuses spanning 758 acres, UTSA is the Education in San Antonio, largest universi ...

. He recorded the fifth-longest interception return in school history, with a 71-yard return for a touchdown against North Texas University. As a senior, he started all 12 games, totaling 54 tackles (2.5 for loss), 3 interceptions, 8 passes defensed, 0.5 sacks and one forced a fumble. He had 9 tackles against

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

. He made 8 tackles and one forced fumble against

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

McKinnon was signed 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 ...

by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

after 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 May 6. He was waived by the Cowboys on August 29, 2016.

Tennessee Titans

On November 15, 2016, McKinnon was signed to the

' practice squad.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On January 16, 2017, McKinnon signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys. He was released on July 20, 2017.

Washington Redskins

On July 29, 2017, McKinnon was signed by 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 waived on September 2, 2017.

New York Giants

On November 28, 2017, McKinnon was signed to the New York Giants' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants on January 1, 2018. He was waived on June 4, 2018.

Cleveland Browns

On July 30, 2018, McKinnon signed with the

. On September 2, 2018, McKinnon was waived by the Browns and was signed to the practice squad the next day. McKinnon was promoted to the active roster on October 2, 2018. McKinnon was waived by the Browns on October 9, 2018, two days after making his NFL debut against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

. He was subsequently re-signed by the Browns to their practice squad the next day. He was released from the Browns' practice squad on October 13, 2018.

Philadelphia Eagles

On November 20, 2018, McKinnon was signed to the

practice squad. McKinnon signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on January 14, 2019. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.

New York Guardians

In October 2019, McKinnon was selected by the New York Guardians in the

2020 XFL 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 ...

. He signed a contract with the team on February 10, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Personal life

McKinnon is cousin to

Richard Leonard Richard Leonard (born January 1962) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2017 to 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), as one of the additional members for the Central Scotland ...

, who currently plays

for 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 ...

and former

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

player Cedric McKinnon.

References

External links

Florida International University Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Jeremiah 1993 births Living people American football cornerbacks FIU Panthers football players Dallas Cowboys players Tennessee Titans players Washington Redskins players New York Giants players Cleveland Browns players Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Miami Miami Southridge Senior High School alumni New York Guardians players