Photo: All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons²

Cooper McDonald

Linebacker, Kansas City Chiefs · #44.

Player facts

Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Position: Linebacker
Number: 44
Born: Aug 7, 2001 (age 25)
Birthplace: Haslet, TX, USA
Height: 6' 3"
Weight: 240 lbs
College: TCU
Experience: 2 seasons
Status: Day-To-Day

Stats

2026 Defense

	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	FF	FR	YDS	INT	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	PD	STF	STFYDS	KB
Regular Season	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career	26	10	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	1.5	1	0

Recent games

			Tackles				Fumbles		Interceptions
Date	Opponent	Result	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	FF	FR	INT	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	PD	KB
Mon, Sep 14	vs DEN	W 31-10	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0

Last 1 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

Cooper McDonald (born August 7, 2001) is an American professional football linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies, San Diego State Aztecs and TCU Horned Frogs and was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2025.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cooper McDonald, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

McDonald is from Haslet, Texas. He attended Northwest High School in Justin and competed in football and track and field there. As a junior in football, he had four forced fumbles and two interceptions. He then was named honorable mention all-state and the District 4-5A Division II Defensive MVP as a senior. A three-star recruit, he committed to play college football for the Washington Huskies.

College career

As a freshman at Washington in 2020, McDonald appeared in four games and totaled four tackles and a pass breakup. He then became a starter at linebacker in 2021 after an injury to Zion Tupuola-Fetui. In 10 starts during the 2021 season, he made 25 tackles and one sack. After the season, he entered the NCAA transfer portal. McDonald transferred to the San Diego State Aztecs in 2022, posting 41 tackles, five tackles-for-loss and two sacks that year. In 2023, he started all 12 games and tallied 43 tackles, four tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. He then transferred to the TCU Horned Frogs for his final year of college football in 2024. With the Horned Frogs, he posted 25 tackles, four tackles-for-loss and three sacks in nine games played.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cooper McDonald, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article.¹