Verone McKinley III

Verone McKinley III (born June 29, 2000) is an American professional football safety. He played college football at Oregon.

Early life McKinley attended Hebron High School in Carrollton, Texas. He committed to the University of Oregon to play college football.

College career As a true freshman at Oregon in 2018, McKinley played in three games before taking a redshirt. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, he started 11 of 14 games, recording 46 tackles and four interceptions. In 2020, he started six of seven games and had 46 tackles and one interception. McKinley 2021 season at Oregon he earned first-team consensus All-American and first-team All-Pac-12 Conference honors as a junior in 2021. He started all 14 games that seasons, recording 78 tackles (44 solo), six interceptions, 12 passes defensed and one forced fumble. In McKinley's collegiate career, he recorded 11 interceptions in 38 games. McKinley was a three-year starter (2019–2021). He was named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins McKinley signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2022. He was waived by the Dolphins on August 30, 2022, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 12. On November 27, he recorded his first career interception in a 30–15 win over the Houston Texans.

On September 16, 2023, McKinley was waived by the Dolphins and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on December 6.

Arizona Cardinals On January 3, 2024, McKinley was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad. He was waived on August 26.