Cowboys acquire Rolando McClain from Baltimore
Rolando McClain is reportedly giving the NFL another shot.
And he’s moving on to a new team, too.
Baltimore has traded McClain to Dallas, ESPN”s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday.
According to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, the Cowboys will send a sixth-round selection in the deal to the Ravens, who in turn will send a seventh-rounder to Dallas.
The trade comes on the same day the Cowboys placed star middle linebacker Sean Lee on injured reserve with an ACL tear. The Cowboys also took McClain off the reserve/retired list, which places him on their roster. The transactions were disclosed in the NFL’s Tuesday personnel notice.
According to Mike Garafolo of Fox, agent Pat Dye has indicated McClain is ready to resume his career after sitting out the 2013 season.
The Ravens have had McClain’s rights for a little more than a year, but he never appeared in any games for Baltimore after electing to retire in May 2013. He attempted a brief comeback this year, but that quickly ended, and he told ESPN he was again leaving the game.
Though McClain has not played in an NFL game since 2012, he is just 24 years old, and he has experience playing middle linebacker in a 4-3 scheme, a position at which Dallas has a need after Lee’s season-ending injury, which was suffered in offseason workouts in May.
McClain recorded 246 tackles and 6.5 sacks in three seasons with the Raiders (2010-2012). He was the Raiders’ first-round pick four years ago, but off- and on-field issues marked the latter stages of his stint in Oakland.