For Clemson fans who still remember Ray-Ray McCloud flying down the sideline in orange, the news lands with a familiar thud.
The Chicago Bears have released the former Tigers wide receiver from injured reserve with an injury settlement, ending a stint that lasted less than a month, via the NFL transaction log.
McCloud signed with Chicago on Aug. 10 after a workout, a veteran add while the Bears dealt with receiver injuries. On Aug. 30, when the club trimmed to 53, he went on injured reserve. Days later he was cut.
The hamstring-related tag and settlement mean he can sign elsewhere once healthy rather than sitting out the year on Chicago’s IR.
That is the NFL life McCloud has lived since leaving Death Valley. Drafted in the sixth round by Buffalo in 2018, the Tampa product has worn Bills, Panthers, Steelers, 49ers, Falcons, Giants, and now Bears colors.
He is not far removed from a real role: in 2024 with Atlanta he started 13 games and posted 62 catches for 686 yards and a touchdown. Last season it unraveled — four games and 64 yards in Atlanta, then a brief Giants stop. The Bears were supposed to be a reset. The reset lasted three weeks.
Clemson people do not measure him only by the latest waiver wire. Recruited as a high-school running back, he became a slot and return piece under Dabo Swinney from 2015–17. He finished with 127 receptions for 1,226 yards and four scores in 40 games, plus 50 punt returns for 485 yards and a touchdown.
McCloud was on the 2016 national championship team, catching 49 passes for 472 yards and a couple of touchdowns that season.
In 2017, he averaged 12.1 yards per punt return and earned All-ACC notice as a specialist. That burst and toughness traveled, as he led the NFL in punt-return yards with Pittsburgh in 2021 and reached Super Bowl LVIII with San Francisco.
At 29, the path is what it is for a 5-foot-9 receiver who wins with speed and special teams. Rosters get tight in August. Injuries get labeled. Settlements get signed. None of that erases what he did in Death Valley or the fact that, for stretches, he was a legitimate NFL contributor.
Tiger fans have seen this movie with other late-round and undrafted products: the call, the camp, the cut, the next camp. McCloud has already shown he can reappear.
When he does, the orange-and-purple corner of the timeline will notice — same as it did when Chicago first picked up the phone.
