Vance McDonald Fantasy Stats

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday. McDonald was a second-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2013. He spent four years with the Niners before being traded to Pittsburgh shortly before the 2017 season. McDonald played in 101 career games (77 starts) and finished with 181 catches for 2,036 yards and 15 touchdowns. In his four years with the Steelers, McDonald reeled in 117 passes for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns in 53 games (47 starts). His best season came in 2018, when he caught 50 passes for 610 yards (12.2 yards per catch) and four touchdowns. The 30-year-old dealt with his fair share of injuries in eight seasons. His retirement will save the team $5.2 million in salary cap space heading into the 2021 season.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that tight end Vance McDonald has been cleared to come off the COVID-19 list and will return to practice on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tight end Zach Gentry (knee) is dealing with a significant knee injury and will not play on Thursday night against the division-rival Ravens. McDonald hasn't played since the Week 9 win over the Cowboys, but it looks like they'll have him this week against Baltimore. As long as Eric Ebron remains healthy, McDonald just isn't fantasy relevant with all of the offensive weapons around him. The veteran tight end has only nine receptions on 11 targets for 61 scoreless yards in eight games this season.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. McDonald was immediately quarantined and is being put on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, which means he won't play in Week 10 against the Bengals. Pittsburgh is in the league's intensive protocol and is in the process of completing contact tracing. The team announced on Saturday that a staff member self-quarantined after testing positive for the virus. McDonald did not play in Week 9 and hasn't been fantasy relevant behind Eric Ebron in 2020. The only unbeaten team in the NFL after a close win over the Cowboys in Week 9, the Steelers will host the Bengals in Week 10. Stay tuned to see if McDonald had any high-risk close contacts.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald (illness) is questionable for Week 9 against the Cowboys with a non-COVID-19-related illness. McDonald first showed up on the injury report on Friday and didn't practice. McDonald just hasn't been relevant in fantasy this year with Eric Ebron the team's primary pass-catching tight end. The 30-year-old has only eight receptions on 10 targets for 59 yards in seven games played this season. Even if McDonald is active on Sunday, he'll play second fiddle to Ebron, who should be considered a high-end TE2 with TE1 upside if he finds paydirt.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to pick up tight end Vance McDonald's $5.5 million option for the 2020 season, according to sources. McDonald would come at a salary cap hit of $7.127 million. Pittsburgh thinks he can have a bounce-back season after struggling with two quarterbacks once Ben Roethlisberger (elbow) went down for the season in the second game. McDonald had a career-high 50 receptions for 610 yards and four touchdowns in 2018 in a full year with Big Ben to just 38 catches for 273 yards and three touchdowns in 2019. He also posted a career-low 7.2 yards per catch. The 29-year-old could easily play better next season if Roethlisberger is healthy, but McDonald also has never played a full season in his seven years in the league and will strictly be a potential upside TE2 in fantasy in deeper leagues.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald can safely be left off your fantasy lineups in Week 17 against the Baltimore Ravens. McDonald has had a down year, catching just 36 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns, and has just 34 yards on eight catches over the last four games. On a fantasy point per game basis, Baltimore houses the top defense against tight ends, and even though they'll likely be resting most of their starters, McDonald doesn't carry any fantasy value outside of a DFS dart throw.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald hauled in three of his six targets for nine yards in Sunday's loss to the New York Jets. The 29-year-old clearly wasn't able to make anything happen with the looks he did receive. After sitting out Week 15 against the Bills, McDonald was hoping to return to greener pastures, but Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph don't move the needle. The tight end has been a disappointment almost all season and it won't get easier in Week 17 against the Ravens where McDonald can be neglected for DFS games.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald (concussion) practiced in full all week and was taken off the final injury report for Week 16 against the Jets. McDonald missed last week but will return on Sunday to face New York. He hasn't gone over 50 yards in a single game the entire season and is coming off a one-catch performance against a Cardinals team that has been diced by tight ends all year long. With quarterback Devlin Hodges under center, we'd advise avoiding McDonald in all leagues with fantasy championships on the line.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald (concussion) went through a full practice on Wednesday. McDonald sat out on Sunday night against the Bills, but it looks like he's cleared the league's concussion protocol and is on track to return in Week 16 against the Jets. The matchup is a nice one, but McDonald hasn't gone over 40 yards in a single game this year, and two of his three touchdowns on the season came in one game. He had just one catch on one target for three yards on Dec. 8 against the Cardinals, a team that has been extremely generous to the position this year. Even if McDonald returns in Week 16, fantasy owners should be looking for more upside with everything on the line.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Vance McDonald (concussion) will not play in Week 15 against the Buffalo Bills, the team announced on Friday. McDonald had to exit last Sunday's game and only practiced in limited fashion on Thursday, so it's no surprise he couldn't pass the league's protocol. Nick Vannett will take over in his place and he has provided no fantasy relevance since being acquired from the Seahawks earlier this season. Against a top-tier pass defense like the Bills, Vannett carries little to no streaming value but might have some DFS punt value in GPP's where you can save up for other positions.