McDonald was born in Winnie, Texas.[2] He attended East Chambers High School in Winnie, and played for the East Chambers Buccaneers high school football team.[3] McDonald 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. McDonald also competed in basketball and was a standout athlete for the East Chambers High School track team. He was a member of the relay team. McDonald also had personal bests of 6.28 meters in the long jump and 12.53 meters in the triple jump.[4]
As a sophomore, McDonald posted a career-high eight touchdowns, to go along with 396 yards receiving on 28 receptions.
In his final two seasons, McDonald recorded 999 receiving yards on 80 receptions and seven touchdowns.[8] He was a first-team All-Conference-USA selection at tight end as a senior.[9]
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 selected McDonald in the second round (55th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft.[13] He was the fourth tight end to be selected that year.[14] 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.[15]
McDonald started the regular season as the second tight end on the depth chart, behind veteran Vernon Davis and ahead of Garrett Celek. In the season opener, he caught a 25-yard pass from Colin Kaepernick for his first career reception during a 34–28 victory over the Green Bay Packers.[16] Two weeks later, McDonald earned his first career start against the Indianapolis Colts and finished the loss with a six-yard reception.[17]
McDonald finished his rookie year with eight receptions for 119 yards in 15 games and four starts.[18]
2014 season
On September 14, 2014, McDonald started his first game of the season during a loss to the Chicago Bears and made his first catch of the season for nine yards.[19] McDonald made his only other catch of the season during a Week 6 victory over the St. Louis Rams and finished the game with one reception for 21 yards.[20] On December 9, 2014, McDonald was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a back injury.[21]
McDonald finished his second professional season with two receptions for 30 yards in eight games and four starts.[22]
2015 season
McDonald started his first and only season under new head coach Jim Tomsula as the backup to Davis once again.[23] On November 22, 2015, McDonald caught his first NFL touchdown on a 19-yard reception from Blaine Gabbert against the Seattle Seahawks.[24]
McDonald finished the 2015 season with 30 receptions for 326 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games and 11 starts.[25]
2016 season
McDonald in 2016
McDonald started his first season under head coach Chip Kelly as the starting tight end for the first time in his career, as Vernon Davis was traded midway through the previous season.[26][27]
During the 49ers' season-opening victory over the Los Angeles Rams, McDonald caught two passes, one for 14 yards and an eight-yard touchdown from Blaine Gabbert.[28] In the next game, he caught a career-long 75-yard touchdown from Gabbert, during a 46–27 loss to the Carolina Panthers.[29][30] On November 6, 2016, McDonald scored a 65-yard touchdown during a 41–23 loss to the New Orleans Saints.[31]
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.[15][32][33] He was placed on injured reserve three days later, after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 14 against the New York Jets.[34] McDonald finished the 2016 season with 24 receptions for 391 yards and four touchdowns.[35]
Pittsburgh Steelers
2017 season
On August 29, 2017, the 49ers traded McDonald and their 2018 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for the Steelers' 2018 fourth-round pick.[36]
McDonald began the regular season as the backup tight end behind Jesse James.[37] On September 10, McDonald made his Steelers debut in a 21–18 victory over the Cleveland Browns.[38]
McDonald finished the 2017 season with 14 receptions for 188 yards and a touchdown in 10 games and seven starts.[39] In the Divisional Round against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 10 receptions for 112 yards in the 45–42 loss.[40]
2018 season
During Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, McDonald finished with four receptions for a career-high 112 yards and a 75-yard touchdown as the Steelers won 30–27.[41] In Weeks 10 and 11, he recorded receiving touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively.[42][43]
McDonald finished the 2018 season with 50 receptions for 610 yards and four touchdowns in 15 games and 14 starts.[44]
2019 season
During Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, McDonald caught seven passes for 38 yards and two touchdowns in the narrow 28–26 loss.[45] McDonald finished the 2019 had 38 receptions for 273 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games and starts.[46]
2020 season
McDonald was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 9, 2020,[47] and was activated on November 24.[48] He had 15 receptions for 99 yards in 14 games and 12 starts.[49]
Retirement
On January 22, 2021, McDonald announced his retirement after eight seasons in the league.[50]
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