Ray

McDonald

McDonald sat out the final two and a half quarters of Sunday’s win over the Browns. He notched a sack before going down, and was replaced by Ricky Jean-Francois. McDonald’s three sacks are good for fourth on the 49ers.

McDonald normally plays just about every down, but he was hobbled by his latest hamstring strain. Backup Ricky Jean-Francois saw 36 snaps. McDonald was one of the best 3-4 defensive ends in football this season.

The extent is unknown, but McDonald was out of his shoulder pads and replaced by rookie Demarcus Dobbs by the third quarter. McDonald has been dominant in his first season as a starter, so his loss could sting a tough 49ers defense.

McDonald missed Week 9 with a hamstring injury, but otherwise started every game for the 49ers, notching 39 tackles, two forced fumbles, and 5.5 sacks. McDonald thrived under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, grading out as the third best 3-4 defensive end by Pro Football Focus.

McDonald was pulled over for a traffic violation at 2AM Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Police learned of McDonald’s old warrant upon inspection of his record, and released him from jail at 7AM. McDonald is the second 49er to be arrested in the last 12 days, joining OLB/DE Aldon Smith. A high-impact and underrated defender, McDonald had 2.5 sacks in San Francisco’s NFC title game loss to the Giants after racking up 5.5 in the regular season.

Spencer was listed as “probable” on the injury report, but it appears the backup corner had some trouble in warmups. Defensive end Ray McDonald (hamstring) is also out. Otherwise, the Niners are healthy. Their other inactives today: QB Scott Tolzien, FB Moran Norris, WR Brett Swain, OL Michael Person and OL Daniel Kilgore.

From 2011-2012 only two defensive linemen played more snaps than Justin Smith and Ray McDonald. Smith will turn 34 during the first month of the season and is coming off a torn triceps. The defense was noticeably weaker with Smith out of the lineup, so it’s in the best interest of the team to keep him fresh.

McDonald tore his biceps in Week 5 but played through it and ended up starting 14 games, racking up 37 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 22 3-4 end out of 45 qualifiers. McDonald was particularly strong against the run. He’s under contract for $3.5 million in 2014.

McDonald allegedly broke into his ex-fiancee’s bedroom and assaulted her on May 25. Two days later, he was arrested again for violating a restraining order. No team is going to go near McDonald after these charges. The 31-year-old was cut by Chicago following his arrest.

This is the third time McDonald has been accused of violence against women in the last nine months. Details on this incident are still emerging, but there’s a possibility of child endangerment as well. McDonald previously escaped discipline from both the police and the NFL on the first two incidents, one of which was an alleged rape that occurred during a party and another alleged domestic incident of a pregnant woman. The Bears signed McDonald, formerly of the 49ers, to a one-year, non-guaranteed $1.05M contract in March. Expect him to be cut shortly as GM Ryan Pace tries to save face.