Steelers trade for 49ers’ TE McDonald
A Pittsburgh Steelers helmet is on an end zone pylon before the start of a game. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)
San Francisco sent tight end Vance McDonald to Pittsburgh for a fifth-round draft pick next season.
PITTSBURGH – When asked why the Steelers felt the need to trade for a tight end a week and a half before the start of the regular season, head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t mince words.
“The guys haven’t been consistently varsity enough for our comfort,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “It’s as black and white as that. They have had some moments positively and have had moments negatively. So we were in the market for a guy that was NFL capable. It’s as simple as that.”
With that in mind, Pittsburgh sent a fourth-round draft pick in 2018 to the San Francisco 49ers for veteran tight end Vance McDonald and a fifth-round pick next season.
McDonald, 27, brings an immediate upgrade to the position. A second-round draft pick of San Francisco in 2013 out of Rice, McDonald was signed to a five-year contract extension worth $35 million in the offseason. He will earn $2.1 million this season with a salary cap hit of $2.6 million.
McDonald (6-4, 267) appeared in 48 games in four seasons making 64 receptions for 866 yards and seven touchdowns.
“I don’t necessarily remember an evaluation grade,” Tomlin said of McDonald during the draft process. “I remember those that I like. I liked him. I had some insight regarding him. One of the coaches at Rice would come up here in the spring for OTAs and we’d exchange some football knowledge. So I had some insight on him when he was coming out.”
In 2016, McDonald had 24 catches for 391 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games. His 16.3 yards-per-catch average was more than twice that of Steelers starter Jesse James and ranked second among NFL tight ends to New England’s Rob Gronkowski .
McDonald will join a tight end group that includes holdovers James, David Johnson, Xavier Grimble and Jake McGee. Rookie Phazahn Odom was released Tuesday afternoon.
“We had some up-and-down days,” said Johnson, who at 30 is the oldest of the Steelers tight ends.
“We’ve just got to keep showing up every day and doing the best we can do. We don’t know what they’re going to do. We’ve just got to keep doing our best.”
That group combined for 61 receptions last season. Ladarius Green, who was signed to help the team replace retired Heath Miller, appeared in just six games and was released in the offseason.
With Green injured for much of the season, James started 13 games and has been at the top of the Steelers’ depth chart throughout the preseason.
McDonald will likely take over that role at some point. When that might be will depend on how quickly he can pick up the offense. The Steelers open the regular season Sept. 10 at Cleveland.
“I’ll have a better sense of that once we get him here and working,” Tomlin said. “We’ll give him some work and see how we proceed in that process until he’s caught up. How much he can handle and how long that process is will be determined by him.
“We’re not going to anoint him in any way. We’re going to put him in uniform and allow them to sort themselves out. It’s reasonable to expect the guys who are here will respond positively in the right way to his presence with their play. The end result is that we’re going to get better play at the position.”
Odds and end zones
Tomlin has made no decisions about who will or won’t play in Thursday’s preseason finale at Carolina. … In addition to releasing Odom, the Steelers also cut defensive end Christian Brown and placed linebacker Keion Adams on the reserve/injured list. Adams was a seventh-round draft pick this year. The Steelers announced their inaugural Hall of Honor class that will be inducted into the new display at Heinz Field Nov. 26. It includes Jerome Bettis, Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Jack Butler, Dermontti Dawson, Bill Dudley, Joe Greene, Kevin Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Dick Hoak, John Henry Johnson, Walt Keisling, Jack Lambert, Bobby Layne, John McNally, Chuck Noll, Arthur J. Rooney, Sr., Daniel M. Rooney, Andy Russell, Donnie Shell, John Stallworth, Ernie Stautner, Lynn Swann, Mike Webster and Rod Woodson.