Oregon seems to be a place Cam McCormick doesn’t want to leave. Or, at the very least, he doesn’t have to leave.

The Ducks’ tight end is mulling a return to Eugene for the 2023 season, what would be his eighth year with the program.

It has been an eventful career, to say the least. McCormick was a member of Oregon’s 2016 class and redshirted that year. In 2017, he was one of three Oregon players hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis after hard workouts prior to the season, but he was able to get on the field in-season and appear in all 13 games. He suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the first game of the 2018 season, and subsequent surgeries forced him to miss all of 2019 and 2020, too.

In 2021, he played in 2 games before going down with another injury. This season, McCormick found health and saw the field in all 12 games. He has nine catches for 64 yards and three touchdowns entering the Ducks’ appearance in the Holiday Bowl.

“I’ve thought about it. it’s a tough decision,” McCormick said after Friday’s practice. “I’m not totally keen on what my decision is going to be yet. I’m just going to continue to enjoy this game with my teammates and make the decision after the game.

“Where I see myself going, if I want to pursue the NFL, whether or not it might be undrafted or late in the rounds. And then just my teammates, the coaches, and the team, where we’re going. Coach Lanning’s doing a lot of great things, bringing in a lot of great people. The guys here are great. It’s a lot on my mind. It’s stressing me out, but it’s a good decision to have, that I at least have a decision to make.”

In fact, McCormick could return for a ninth season in 2024.

“I have two years (left). As crazy as that sounds, I do have two years left,” he said when asked about getting an extra season back. “Decisions, decisions, decisions. I couldn’t imagine doing nine. I applied for it just to have it after Ohio State last year — I tore my Achilles — and thankfully was able to get it. The option’s there, I do have it. Whether I use it, it’s in the air. Thinking about returning for a Year 8.”

If McCormick were to try his hand at an NFL career, it seems like he’d most likely begin that career as an undrafted free agent. If not on an active roster, NFL players signed to practice squads will earn $12,000 per week in 2023.

Especially at a place like Oregon, the potential to earn more from NIL deals exists. That could play into McCormick’s thinking. The 6-foot-5 Bend, Oregon native already has his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

This season with Lanning at the helm has been a memorable one for the tight ends. McCormick and his teammates lost Spencer Webb before the season. Fellow tight end Terrance Ferguson was responsible for the Ducks’ first offensive touchdown of the season in the Ducks’ Week 2 over Eastern Washington. In the same game, McCormick — while wearing Webb’s No. 18 — caught his first touchdown pass since 2017.

Making it through a full season was his goal heading into the year. Mission accomplished.

“Awesome. Amazing. When we talked (in the preseason), I told you guys my goal was to get through the whole year. I did that and it’s a great feeling,” McCormick said on Friday. “I’d talk to people after the game and they’d be like, ‘How do you feel?’ And I’d be like, ‘I’m just happy to be able to walk out of this game without any problems.’ It’s huge. It just speaks on kind of the no-quit mentality.