When they were teenagers, Chris McDonald and his brother Nick were separated, adopted by different families.
Now they’re not only together, they’re co-workers.
As one of 19 undrafted rookies to sign after the draft, former Michigan State offensive lineman Chris knows it’s going to be difficult to make the Patriots roster.
But since Nick McDonald has been with the Patriots the last two seasons, after getting his start in the league with the Packers as an undrafted rookie himself, Chris knows it can be done.
“My brother is [an inspiration],” Chris said, via Mike Rodak of ESPNBoston.com. “But it’s on me. My brother being in the NFL is not going to help me stay in the NFL and I have to do whatever it takes for myself.”
Chris got a welcome-to-the-team call from his brother shortly after he agreed to his deal.
“He just said get ready to work hard,” Chris McDonald said,. “This program is a very good program. You have to do your best and focus on yourself. . .
“It’s not even just Nick, I see every single guy here. There’s a lot of [rookie] free agents on this team that have played and I’m truly blessed to be a part of a program that has free agents and have played a lot and it just shows that you have to work hard and do whatever it takes.”
The brothers-on-the-same line story has been done by Stacy and Shawn Andrews with the Eagles in 2009, but they didn’t have to overcome the same level of personal or draft-status struggled as the McDonalds.