McDonald played in all three postseason games, including the AFC Championship Game against New England.
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“People don’t realize how hard it is to just manage the roster in the kicking game because there are a lot of guys you can just eliminate from special teams”, Belichick said. The 6-foot-5, 272-pounder, spent his rookie season on the New Orleans practice squad and was released by the Saints prior to the start of the 2014 regular season. To make room for McDonald on the active roster, the Patriots placed Rufus Johnson on non-football illness/reserve.
When safety Ross Ventrone was with the New England Patriots in 2011, he was part of 21 different roster transactions as he was shuffled between the practice squad and roster. His older brother, Ray, is now the assistant special teams coach for the Patriots.
The Patriots signed the safety/special teams ace to their practice squad, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported Wednesday. This is the 30th overall transaction for him with the team.
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He was with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2013 to 2015. He was signed to the 53-man roster on September 6 and played in 14 games and finished with eight tackles. He was also signed to the practice squad 13 times and released 11 times.
