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Former Clemson Tigers WR Sounds Off After Second NFL Release

A brief stop in New York has turned into a spotlight on the real drama unfolding in Atlanta, and a former Tiger isn’t staying quiet about it.
Angelo Feliberty|
A short Giants stint gives way to rising questions about a heated Atlanta exit and what really sparked the midseason fallout.
A short Giants stint gives way to rising questions about a heated Atlanta exit and what really sparked the midseason fallout. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

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Clemson Tigers

After just over a month with the New York Giants, former Clemson Tigers wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III was released.

McCloud is in his eighth season in the NFL and will look for another opportunity in the remaining weeks of the regular season.

The 29-year-old joined New York’s practice squad in late October — only a day after being cut by the Atlanta Falcons, a situation that has remained messy ever since.

The Giants elevated McCloud to the active roster for two games to help fill in for injured receivers Darius Slayton and Malik Nabers, recording one catch for five yards during that stretch. 

But with injuries piling up in the Giants’ special teams room, the team opted to bring in return specialist Xavier Gipson, ultimately leading to McCloud’s release.

While McCloud’s stint with the Giants was brief, the bigger storyline sits in Atlanta, where he’s recently spoken out about his sudden release in late October. 

The Falcons cut McCloud after missing two straight games as a healthy scratch, and nearly a month prior had fired wide receiver coach Ike Hilliard, with Falcons head coach Raheem Morris calling it a “performance-based decision.”

Though he didn’t lay out every detail of what happened behind the scenes, his bold Instagram post quickly drew support from Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., his former Clemson/Falcons teammate A.J. Terrell and plenty of fans.

In the caption of his post, McCloud goes into detail about how these past few months have been some of the hardest trials and tribulations of his life, but that God’s plan is bigger for him. However, the ending is what caught most eyes, as he stuck up for his former position coach, saying that his firing “was never performance-based.”

Even with that message, questions about what actually happened in Atlanta haven’t gone away. The rumors themselves aren’t new, but they’ve gained fresh traction with the post and as Morris faces growing backlash from fans amid a disappointing 4-9 start.

Many believe McCloud was upset over Morris’ decision to fire Hilliard after a 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers — especially since Hilliard oversaw McCloud’s best NFL season in 2024 — and that the two couldn’t see eye to eye afterward, leading to his release.

None of it has been officially confirmed, but McCloud did retweet an X post nearly two weeks ago, hinting in that direction.

Through three seasons with Clemson, the 5-foot-10 receiver accounted for 127 receptions, 1,226 receiving yards and four touchdowns while totaling 717 return yards and one touchdown on special teams.

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Angelo Feliberty
ANGELO FELIBERTY

Angelo Feliberty is a Sports Communication major who got his start with The Tiger newspaper at Clemson University starting as a contributor and working his way up to senior reporter covering multiple sports for the Clemson Tigers. A native of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feliberty was a three-year letterman in track at Myrtle Beach High School.

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