Cowboys Trade For LB Rolando McClain
- Thread starter Tony D
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L.T. Fan
I'm Easy If You Are
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Agree. It's a good stop gap move for the moment.
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If he was signed off the street, it is BFD.
We swapped picks with Baltimore and now Jerry will be saying how much he wants a pick in the sixth next April.
I can honestly say I cannot recall any team trading for a player who was on the official "Retired" list.
NoDak
Hotlinking' sonofabitch
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If McLain died today, and all we ended up with was a swap for our 6th for their 7th... BFD. Yeah, it's a loss in the trade value column. A very small one. One that is worth taking in a trade like this. And one that is not worth grinding your teeth over.
As far as being on the retired list? Don't care. I highly doubt they would have traded for him without first gauging his interest I coming here to play. Makes for good whining ammo tho, I guess.
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Please. If a rival traded for a guy on the retired list, you would probably be all LOL@them.
jsmith6919
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WTF we actually traded for a retired guy..lmao you can't make this shit up
jsmith6919
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I'm taking soon as he gets his first paycheck
*unless he gets one of those gosh darn unlucky injuries then I could see him milking it for awhile
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Pretty soon. Like early in camp, I hope.
Or as soon as Witten shames him like he did to Brodney Pool and we cut him.
NoDak
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Doubtful. I probably wouldn't even notice. 6th and 7th round draft choice trades don't normally pique my interest unless it involves my team.
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Well, that's good news at least. See, Jerry is getting better!
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Rolando McClain's Past Poses A Huge Rehabilitation Project For The Dallas Cowboys
By Dave Halprin @BloggingTheBoys on Jul 1 2014, 6:06p
Let's call this one a longshot. A very long, longshot. The Dallas Cowboys have traded for talented but troubled linebacker Rolando McClain, essentially hoping that some combination of coaches and players within the Cowboys organization can somehow unleash the potential of a player who was once a top-10 first-round pick who played for a demanding perfectionist in college, Nick Saban. And just maybe that is where the nexus of this recent move germinated. Saban was the head coach on the first coaching staff Jason Garrett was a part of, back in Miami in 2005. Saban was also McClain's coach back in Alabama.
I wouldn't be surprised if Garrett talked to Saban about McClain. Just recently, about two months ago, Saban was shocked that McClain retired again from the Ravens.
The 25-year old [McClain] met with Alabama coach Nick Saban before the Ravens workout.
"He was in a great state of mind and seemed like he was excited about going to play," Saban said Tuesday before the Crimson Caravan stop in Huntsville.
The eighth pick in the 2010 draft, McClain had been back in school at Alabama after deciding against playing with the Ravens last fall. Saban said he hasn't spoken with McClain since deciding to retire permanently.
"He'd been in Tuscaloosa and done a really good job in school," Saban said. "We just want the guy to be successful and want him to be happy. And anything we can do to help him, I think he knows we're there for him."
Later on, when he did retire for the second time, Saban had this to say.
"We talked about it when he did it (retired)," Saban said. "He knows when he's ready to talk about it again, which I think it's up to him to decide that, he's welcome to come and talk to me and I'd be happy to talk to him anytime about it."
McClain stated that his heart was no longer in football and that if football made him complete he would still be playing. At the time, he thought he was definitely done with playing football and even mentioned he might be interested in coaching. He was also trying to finish up his college degree and take care of his two kids.
In an interview at Alabama's Pro Day last month, McClain, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, said he'd been working out and was close to obtaining his degree. "Right now, I'm just focusing on finishing up my degree," he said. "I've been working out to stay in shape, but s---, I'm only 24. It's not hard to get out of shape. I don't know. Football is football. Right now, I don't have any plans."
In addition to his problems with retiring, McClain has faced arrests for various incidents ranging from a resisting arrest charge to illegally discharging a firearm and a menacing charge. That is a lot of baggage to be carrying around for such a young player.
His time in Oakland was very turbulent. He clashed with the coaching staff and basically begged to be shipped out after he essentially lost his job to another player. At the time, the Raiders coaching staff seem to imply that he kept making the same mistakes and wasn't learning from them.
Now you can see why the Cowboys got him so cheap. Despite his excellent college pedigree and his high draft pick status in 2010, he's essentially flamed out on the pro level, not only on the field, but off of it.
The Cowboys will have pulled off a miracle if they can resurrect McClain's career.
By Dave Halprin @BloggingTheBoys on Jul 1 2014, 6:06p
Let's call this one a longshot. A very long, longshot. The Dallas Cowboys have traded for talented but troubled linebacker Rolando McClain, essentially hoping that some combination of coaches and players within the Cowboys organization can somehow unleash the potential of a player who was once a top-10 first-round pick who played for a demanding perfectionist in college, Nick Saban. And just maybe that is where the nexus of this recent move germinated. Saban was the head coach on the first coaching staff Jason Garrett was a part of, back in Miami in 2005. Saban was also McClain's coach back in Alabama.
I wouldn't be surprised if Garrett talked to Saban about McClain. Just recently, about two months ago, Saban was shocked that McClain retired again from the Ravens.
The 25-year old [McClain] met with Alabama coach Nick Saban before the Ravens workout.
"He was in a great state of mind and seemed like he was excited about going to play," Saban said Tuesday before the Crimson Caravan stop in Huntsville.
The eighth pick in the 2010 draft, McClain had been back in school at Alabama after deciding against playing with the Ravens last fall. Saban said he hasn't spoken with McClain since deciding to retire permanently.
"He'd been in Tuscaloosa and done a really good job in school," Saban said. "We just want the guy to be successful and want him to be happy. And anything we can do to help him, I think he knows we're there for him."
Later on, when he did retire for the second time, Saban had this to say.
"We talked about it when he did it (retired)," Saban said. "He knows when he's ready to talk about it again, which I think it's up to him to decide that, he's welcome to come and talk to me and I'd be happy to talk to him anytime about it."
McClain stated that his heart was no longer in football and that if football made him complete he would still be playing. At the time, he thought he was definitely done with playing football and even mentioned he might be interested in coaching. He was also trying to finish up his college degree and take care of his two kids.
In an interview at Alabama's Pro Day last month, McClain, who was the eighth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, said he'd been working out and was close to obtaining his degree. "Right now, I'm just focusing on finishing up my degree," he said. "I've been working out to stay in shape, but s---, I'm only 24. It's not hard to get out of shape. I don't know. Football is football. Right now, I don't have any plans."
In addition to his problems with retiring, McClain has faced arrests for various incidents ranging from a resisting arrest charge to illegally discharging a firearm and a menacing charge. That is a lot of baggage to be carrying around for such a young player.
His time in Oakland was very turbulent. He clashed with the coaching staff and basically begged to be shipped out after he essentially lost his job to another player. At the time, the Raiders coaching staff seem to imply that he kept making the same mistakes and wasn't learning from them.
Now you can see why the Cowboys got him so cheap. Despite his excellent college pedigree and his high draft pick status in 2010, he's essentially flamed out on the pro level, not only on the field, but off of it.
The Cowboys will have pulled off a miracle if they can resurrect McClain's career.
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Cowboys take low-risk chance on McClain
July, 1, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys search for a possible replacement for Sean Lee has led them to Rolando McClain.
In 2010, the Oakland Raiders made McClain the eighth pick of the draft. It never worked for him with the Raiders for a variety of reasons, including some of his misdeeds. It never worked for him in two short stints with the Baltimore Ravens that led to him retiring twice.
The Cowboys are looking at a low-risk chance for a high-ceiling talent.
“He sounds as excited about football as I've ever heard him,” McClain's agent, Pat Dye, said.
If that holds up, then the Cowboys might have found the guy to man the middle linebacker that opened when Lee tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in May. The Cowboys mostly worked veteran Justin Durant at Lee's spot in the organized team activities and minicamp, but dabbled with rookie Anthony Hitchens and second-year linebacker DeVonte Holloman at the spot.
Durant is an outside linebacker masking as a middle linebacker even if the coaches believe he can play all three linebacker spots. Holloman started two games at middle linebacker last year as a rookie almost out of desperation. Hitchens, a fourth-round pick, has a lot to learn.
McClain comes with a better resume than any of them, but the off-field issues -- a number of arrests since being drafted -- are a concern. The fact that he retired twice is a concern, but Dye's words offer encouragement that McClain, who ended Jason Witten's preseason in 2012 with a hit in a preseason game that led to a lacerated spleen, knows this might be his last chance.
“I see and Rolando sees the Dallas situation as a great opportunity given Sean's injury and you're talking about a great franchise and a great organization,” Dye said. “I've described to any of the clients we've had through the years there, Emmitt Smith, Dexter Coakley, DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Keith Brooking, DeMarco Murray, that playing for the Cowboys in football is kind of like playing for the Yankees in baseball. Just an iconic franchise. With kind of what he's done going back to his time with the Raiders, I think that all of this has led him to a point where he feels like the game is too important to him to give up. He's just 24 years old. He's very talented. He's very bright. Tough. Competitive. There's a reason he was a top-10 pick at a position that is almost impossible to be a top-10 pick. Hopefully this situation will go smoothly.”
Patience will be required. He has not played in a game since November 2012, after he was suspended for two games for conduct detrimental to the team. He has not taken part in a full offseason program. He will have to learn a new defense and a new team.
The Cowboys have taken these sorts of chances on former high picks before. In 2005, they signed Marc Colombo, who was the Chicago Bears' first round pick in 2002, after he suffered a serious knee injury. In 2006, Colombo became the Cowboys' starting right tackle and held the spot through 2010.
Asking that of McClain is too much. He's on just a one-year deal and the Cowboys believe Lee will be 100 percent in 2015, but this is a chance worth taking.
And it falls in line with how the Cowboys have conductive their offseason business, spending wisely if not exorbitantly on guys like Henry Melton, Terrell McClain, Jeremy Mincey, Anthony Spencer and Amobi Okoye.
July, 1, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys search for a possible replacement for Sean Lee has led them to Rolando McClain.
In 2010, the Oakland Raiders made McClain the eighth pick of the draft. It never worked for him with the Raiders for a variety of reasons, including some of his misdeeds. It never worked for him in two short stints with the Baltimore Ravens that led to him retiring twice.
The Cowboys are looking at a low-risk chance for a high-ceiling talent.
“He sounds as excited about football as I've ever heard him,” McClain's agent, Pat Dye, said.
If that holds up, then the Cowboys might have found the guy to man the middle linebacker that opened when Lee tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in May. The Cowboys mostly worked veteran Justin Durant at Lee's spot in the organized team activities and minicamp, but dabbled with rookie Anthony Hitchens and second-year linebacker DeVonte Holloman at the spot.
Durant is an outside linebacker masking as a middle linebacker even if the coaches believe he can play all three linebacker spots. Holloman started two games at middle linebacker last year as a rookie almost out of desperation. Hitchens, a fourth-round pick, has a lot to learn.
McClain comes with a better resume than any of them, but the off-field issues -- a number of arrests since being drafted -- are a concern. The fact that he retired twice is a concern, but Dye's words offer encouragement that McClain, who ended Jason Witten's preseason in 2012 with a hit in a preseason game that led to a lacerated spleen, knows this might be his last chance.
“I see and Rolando sees the Dallas situation as a great opportunity given Sean's injury and you're talking about a great franchise and a great organization,” Dye said. “I've described to any of the clients we've had through the years there, Emmitt Smith, Dexter Coakley, DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Keith Brooking, DeMarco Murray, that playing for the Cowboys in football is kind of like playing for the Yankees in baseball. Just an iconic franchise. With kind of what he's done going back to his time with the Raiders, I think that all of this has led him to a point where he feels like the game is too important to him to give up. He's just 24 years old. He's very talented. He's very bright. Tough. Competitive. There's a reason he was a top-10 pick at a position that is almost impossible to be a top-10 pick. Hopefully this situation will go smoothly.”
Patience will be required. He has not played in a game since November 2012, after he was suspended for two games for conduct detrimental to the team. He has not taken part in a full offseason program. He will have to learn a new defense and a new team.
The Cowboys have taken these sorts of chances on former high picks before. In 2005, they signed Marc Colombo, who was the Chicago Bears' first round pick in 2002, after he suffered a serious knee injury. In 2006, Colombo became the Cowboys' starting right tackle and held the spot through 2010.
Asking that of McClain is too much. He's on just a one-year deal and the Cowboys believe Lee will be 100 percent in 2015, but this is a chance worth taking.
And it falls in line with how the Cowboys have conductive their offseason business, spending wisely if not exorbitantly on guys like Henry Melton, Terrell McClain, Jeremy Mincey, Anthony Spencer and Amobi Okoye.
NoDak
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But now Jerry will be saying how much he wants a pick in the sixth next April.
How can you not SEE this?
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Laugh if you want, but there the dumb ass was, lamenting about it, even after Edgar Jones actually made the team.
If we signed him off the street, no big deal.
We actually traded potential value for a player on the Reserve-Retired list.
I would love to hear where that ever worked out for anyone, if it ever has ever happened.
Fill me in, cool guy.