The San Francisco 49ers will take on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football, but one familiar face will notably be absent in wide receiver and kick returner Ray-Ray McCloud. He will miss the game due to a private matter.
The circumstances surrounding McCloud's absence are a bit mysterious. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said when asked about McCloud, "I sent him home. Excused absence -- home. Working through some things right now that are private with my young man, and we'll figure those things out as we go."
Morris went on to say: "I wouldn’t say it is a disciplinary thing. More a football thing with something we have to get straightened out.”
McCloud was scratched from Atlanta's last game against the Buffalo Bills as well, so it seems something is going on with the former 49er.
The speedster took to social media to bemoan the fact that he would be missing the game:
I know my dawgs goin’ ball tomorrow!! I wanted this one bad with yall boys. Love yall , go Ball out and Let’s go get this win ðð¾ ….. 5 & 1 handle that for me plz ð (y’all know what im talking about)!
— RayRay McCloud III (@RMIII_34) October 18, 2025
Some fans have interpreted the "5 & 1 handle that for me plz" remark as some sort of veiled shot at the 49ers or at least players on the Niners, but it is not altogether clear if that is what was intended.
McCloud is a bit controversial amongst 49ers fans mainly because of a mishandled punt in the Super Bowl from a few years ago against the Kansas City Chiefs. The play was not entirely McCloud's fault as the ball ricocheted off the foot of Darrell Luter, but instead of just falling on the ball McCloud tried to scoop it up and run with it which did not go well as he never got a handle on it and the Chiefs recovered.
It was a huge momentum swing in that game and the Chiefs scored a touchdown right after that to take the lead late in the third quarter.
McCloud was decent for the 49ers as a returner, but special teams has never really been a point of emphasis for the team under head coach Kyle Shanahan. McCloud signed with Atlanta after that 2023 Super Bowl season and has been there since. The team might prefer him to Skyy Moore who has looked rather shaky at times as a returner for the 49ers this season.
Even though McCloud will not be out there tonight, there will be some other former 49ers in the mix with tight end Charlie Woerner, defensive lineman Leonard Floyd, and Atlanta's defensive coordinator is Jeff Ulbrich who used to play for the Niners and was Robert Saleh's defensive coordinator with the New York Jets.
McCloud may not have a chance at revenge, but maybe Woerner and Floyd will have big games against their former team.