We learned yesterday that embattled linebacker Rolando McClain is looking to make an NFL comeback, but it doesn’t sound like his former team will necessarily welcome him back with open arm. During an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones quickly shut down rumors of a potential return.
“Rolando has got to work on his off-the-field situations before he can even begin to think about being a productive player on the field,” Jones said (via Make Lane of WFAA Sports on Twitter). “And I certainly know he’s on that journey. We certainly wish him the best. But the league policies are what they are. We certainly know that we’re accountable to them, as is Rolando. I think that was a settlement that is final. Certainly hope that Rolando is focused on getting himself better and ultimately get himself in a good situation first in terms of the things that he’s battling off the field.”
Meanwhile, Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com writes that the Cowboys still own McClain’s rights. The team placed the linebacker on the reserve/suspended list back in 2016 after he was hit with a 10-game suspension. However, Williams cautions that if McClain earned reinstatement, the Cowboys would likely cut him. The 29-year-old signed a one-year, $5MM contract with Dallas back in 2016.
The Cowboys decision to trade for the linebacker in 2014 paid off, as the linebacker would go on to appear in 13 games for his new team, compiling 81 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. He earned his first suspension from the NFL the following offseason, limiting him to only eleven games in 2015, although he still collected 80 tackles and a pair of sacks.
After signing that previously-mentioned one-year deal with the Cowboys during the 2016 offseason, McClain was handed a ten-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He then failed another drug test midway through the campaign, and the NFL slapped him with an indefinite suspension. After his third ban in two years, McClain was cuffed on a 2017 arrest for firearm and drug charges.
Stephen Jones’ favorite word: certainly
It certainly seems that way
Trade McClain’s rights to the Raiders. He could be the guy to carry on the legacy of Aldon Smith.