Iowa QB Cade McNamara is planning for the seventh season and is entering the transfer portal

Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara entered the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday and will attempt to play his seventh collegiate season elsewhere in 2025.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound graduate threw for 1,522 yards with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 13 games with the Hawkeyes during his two years with the program.

McNamara suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his fifth game of 2023 and returned to the starting lineup for eight games this season before missing Iowa’s final four games due to a concussion.

McNamara began his career at Michigan in 2019 and was the Wolverines’ starter on their way to a Big Ten title and a berth in the College Football Playoff in 2021. He transferred to Iowa at the end of the 2022 season after JJ McCarthy had taken the starting job at Michigan.

McNamara would have to be granted a waiver by the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility next season. He suffered a season-ending knee injury at Michigan in 2022 and appeared in just three games that season, allowing him to seek a medical redshirt to return this year.

After not traveling with the team to Iowa’s game at Maryland, McNamara posted on McNamara wrote that he had been cleared to participate in practice following a concussion against Northwestern on Oct. 26, but had not been cleared to return to play .

Brendan Sullivan, a transfer from Northwestern, replaced McNamara as Iowa’s starter before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. Third-string quarterback Jackson Stratton stepped in and led the Hawkeyes to victories over Maryland and Nebraska, finishing the game 8-4. Sullivan and Stratton can return in 2025, but the Hawkeyes are also expected to explore adding a quarterback through the transfer portal this offseason.