After four seasons in Pittsburgh and eight seasons in the NFL, Steelers tight end Vance McDonald is calling it a career. Just under two weeks after his team's elimination from the 2020 playoffs, the 30-year-old has announced he's retiring from football. Originally a second-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers, McDonald posted the quietest stat line of his Pittsburgh career working behind Eric Ebron in 2020, but departs the game having entrenched himself in the Steelers community.
"I am appreciative of Vance's contributions during the last four years of his career that he spent in Pittsburgh," coach Mike Tomlin said in a team statement. "He was a class act on and off the field, leading many of our efforts in the community while also being a voice for our social justice efforts and the community work during the pandemic. I wish he and his family nothing but the best in his retirement and his continued work to be a pillar in the community."
Drafted out of Rice in 2013, McDonald spent the first four years of his NFL career in San Francisco, where he initially backed up two-time Pro Bowler Vernon Davis. He appeared on track for career numbers in 2016, his first full season as a starter, with 391 receiving yards and four touchdowns through the first 11 games. Just days after signing a five-year, $35 million extension, however, he landed on injured reserve with a shoulder issue. Traded to the Steelers the following August in a swap of draft picks, he went on to serve as one of Pittsburgh's top rotational tight ends alongside Ebron and Jesse James, posting a career-best 50 catches for 610 yards and four scores in 2018. He was named the Steelers' Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee in 2020.
"My family and I are so grateful for everything NFL football has provided us in our life -- all the memories both good and the difficult, the relationships and friends we've made along the way, the life lessons the game provided both me and my loved ones," McDonald said Friday. "It's always been our dream and mission to leverage the platform given us through the NFL to help serve and uplift others along the way, and we will continue to find ways to serve others as we begin this next chapter of our lives. I am proud to retire a Steeler."
