Raymond McCloud III (born October 15, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

Early life

McCloud attended

Sickles High School Walter L. Sickles High School is a public high school in Citrus Park, Florida, United States. Constructed in 1997, it was named for the superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools from 1989 to 1996. Academics As of 2010, Sickles High ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

and played on the Gryphons

team as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. As a senior, he rushed for 1,933 yards and 17

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. For his high school career, he had 5,765 rushing yards and 58 touchdowns. He committed to play football for the

in July 2014, choosing them over the likes of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Auburn, and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

College career

As a freshman in 2015, McCloud played in 12 games, catching 29 passes for 251 yards and one touchdown. He missed three games due to a knee injury. In 2016, as a sophomore, McCloud played in 14 of Clemson's 15 games, missing one due to an ankle injury. In those 14 games, he tallied 49 receptions for 472 yards and two touchdowns, helping Clemson win the National Championship. As a junior in 2017, McCloud played in all 14 of Clemson's games, tallying 49 receptions for 503 yards and one touchdown. He also returned 25 punts for 303 yards and one touchdown. He was voted Honorable Mention All-ACC at the conclusion of the 2017 season. Following the season, he declared for the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

Statistics

Professional career

Buffalo Bills (first stint)

McCloud was drafted by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the sixth round with the 187th overall pick in the

. In Week 3, in a 27–6 victory over the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, he made his first professional reception and had a 13-yard punt return. On August 31, 2019, McCloud was waived by the Bills.

Carolina Panthers

On September 1, 2019, McCloud was claimed off waivers by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. He was waived on October 15, 2019.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On October 17, 2019, McCloud was signed to the Bills

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. In addition to serving as a wide receiver, McCloud served as the

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of ...

quarterback, emulating the style of mobile quarterbacks the Bills face that week. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bills on January 6, 2020. He was waived on July 27, 2020.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On August 21, 2020, McCloud signed with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. McCloud signed a one-year contract extension with the Steelers on March 11, 2021. McCloud became the Steelers' primary

, returning 28 kickoffs for 646 yards and 29 punts with an average of 10.7 yards. He was named by ''

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

'' on its All-Pro roster as a second-team return specialist. In 2021, McCloud led the NFL in total punt-return yards gained. He recorded 39 receptions for 277 receiving yards on the season.

San Francisco 49ers

On March 22, 2022, McCloud signed a two-year contract with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. On October 23, in Week 7 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, McCloud scored his first career touchdown on an 8–yard pass from

Jimmy Garoppolo James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed "Jimmy G", is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panther ...

. McCloud finished the 2022 season with 14 receptions for 243 yards and one receiving touchdown to go with a rushing touchdown. He handled some kickoff and punt return duties on special teams. McCloud was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 9, 2023. He was activated on January 6, 2024. He finished the 2023 season with 12 receptions for 135 yards while handling some kickoff and punt return duties. The 49ers reached

Super Bowl LVIII Super Bowl LVIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. A rematch of Super Bowl LIV four years prior, the American Football Conference (AFC) 20 ...

, but lost 25-22 to the

. In the Super Bowl, McCloud had 1 catch for 19 yards.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 18, 2024, McCloud signed a two-year contract with the

. McCloud finished with 62 receptions for 686 yards and one touchdown.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

McCloud is the older brother of quarterback

Jordan McCloud Jordan McCloud (born November 4, 1999) is an American football quarterback. He previously played college football for the South Florida Bulls, Arizona Wildcats, James Madison Dukes, and Texas State Bobcats. Early life and high school McCloud ...

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioClemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloud, Ray-Ray 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Tampa, Florida American football wide receivers Clemson Tigers football players Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Pittsburgh Steelers players San Francisco 49ers players American football return specialists Atlanta Falcons players