Cassanova McKinzy

American football player (born 1992)

American football player
Cassanova McKinzy
Personal information
Born: (1992-11-17) November 17, 1992 (age 31)
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:252 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High school:Woodlawn (Birmingham, Alabama)
College:Auburn (2012–2015)
Position:Outside linebacker
Undrafted:2016
Career history
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016)*
  • Los Angeles Rams (2017)*
  • Washington Redskins (2018–2019)
  • Calgary Stampeders (2021–2022)
  • Vegas Vipers (2023)
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
CFL status:American
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:2
Sacks:1.0
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:0
Interceptions:0
Player stats at NFL.com

Cassanova McKinzy (born November 17, 1992) is an American football outside linebacker who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Auburn, and was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Early years

McKinzy is the son of Joann Brown and Charles Drake. He attended Woodlawn High School, where he played high school football for the Colonels.[1]

College career

A 4-star recruit, McKinzy committed to Auburn to play under head coach Gus Malzahn, over offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Clemson, Florida State, Kansas, and UAB.[2] He stated that a reason for rejecting Clemson was because there is no nearby Chick-fil-A. (McKinzy was mistaken; there is one on campus.)[3] He played three seasons from 2012–2015.[4][5]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m) 		248 lb
(112 kg) 		31+1⁄4 in
(0.79 m) 		9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 4.83 s 1.65 s 2.72 s 4.37 s 7.50 s 9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)		 21 reps
[6][7]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

McKinzy was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent following the 2016 NFL draft.[8] On August 22, 2016, he was released by the team.[9]

Los Angeles Rams

On January 3, 2017, McKinzy signed a reserve/future contract with the Los Angeles Rams.[10] He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Rams' practice squad the next day.[11][12] He was released by the team on September 19, 2017.

Washington Redskins

On January 1, 2018, McKinzy signed a reserve/future contract with the Washington Redskins.[13] He was released on April 30, 2018, but re-signed on August 6.[14][15]

On September 1, 2018, McKinzy was waived for final roster cuts before the start of the 2018 season but signed to the team's practice squad the next day.[16][17] He was promoted to the active roster on October 29, 2018, but was waived the next day and re-signed to the practice squad.[18][19][20] He was promoted back to the active roster on November 9, 2018.[21] He suffered a torn pectoral in Week 12 and was ruled out for the rest of the season.[22]

On October 7, 2019, McKinzy was released by the Redskins and re-signed to the practice squad.[23] His practice squad contract with the team expired on January 6, 2020.[24]

Calgary Stampeders

McKinzy signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL on June 16, 2021.[25]

Vegas Vipers

McKinzy was drafted by the Vegas Vipers during the 2023 XFL draft.

References

  1. ^ Crepea, James. "Who will bring pass rush for Auburn? New face joins mix". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  2. ^ "Cassanova McKinzy College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  3. ^ Watson, Graham (February 1, 2012). "Cassanova McKinzy spurned Clemson because he missed the Chick-fil-A". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  4. ^ "Cassanova McKinzy Biography". Auburn Tigers Athletics. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  5. ^ "Cassanova McKinzy, 2012 Outside Linebacker - Rivals.com". N.rivals.com. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  6. ^ "Cassanova McKinzy Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  7. ^ "2016 NFL Draft Scout Cassanova McKinzy College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  8. ^ Smith, Scott (May 2, 2016). "Buccaneers Land 19 Rookie Free Agents". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  9. ^ Stevens, Matthew (August 22, 2016). "Cassanova McKinzy released by Tampa Bay Buccaneers". MontgomeryAdvertiser.com. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  10. ^ Inabinett, Mark (January 4, 2017). "Cassanova McKinzy signs NFL reserve/future contract". AL.com. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  11. ^ Han, Jamie (September 2, 2017). "Rams Announce Roster Moves". TheRams.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Simmons, Myles (September 3, 2017). "Rams Waive Three, Announce Practice Squad". TheRams.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017.
  13. ^ "Redskins Sign 11 Players To Reserve/Future Contracts". Redskins.com. January 1, 2018. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018.
  14. ^ Williams, Charean (April 30, 2018). "Washington cuts six players, including A.J. Francis, Montori Hughes". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  15. ^ "8/6: Redskins Make Roster Moves". Redskins.com. August 6, 2018. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  16. ^ "9/1: Redskins Make Roster Moves". Redskins.com. September 1, 2018. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  17. ^ "Kapri Bibbs Among Eight Added To Practice Squad". Redskins.com. September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  18. ^ "Redskins Place Troy Apke On Injured Reserve". Redskins.com. October 29, 2018.
  19. ^ Kring-Schreifels, Jake (October 30, 2018). "Redskins Acquire Ha Ha Clinton-Dix From Packers". Redskins.com.
  20. ^ "10/31: Redskins Make Roster Move". Redskins.com. October 31, 2018. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  21. ^ "Redskins Sign Cassanova McKinzy To Active Roster, Waive Casey Dunn". Redskins.com. November 9, 2018.
  22. ^ Gantt, Darin (November 23, 2018). "Washington's Cassanova McKinzy suffers torn pectoral". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  23. ^ Williams, Charean (October 7, 2019). "Washington claims Hale Hentges, cuts Cassanova McKinzy". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  24. ^ @HBalzer721 (January 7, 2020). "Redskins practice-squad contracts expired Monday: WR Jehu Chesson; RB Derrick Gore; LBs Cassanova McKinzy, Pete Robertson; TE Keith Trowbridge; DT JoJo Wicker" (Tweet). Retrieved January 9, 2020 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Cassanova McKinzy added to roster". Stampeders.com. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

External links

  • Auburn Tigers bio Archived April 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  • NFL Draft profile
  • Washington Redskins bio


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