Cowboys take low-risk chance on McClain
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.
But he doesn’t turn 25 until July 14.
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.”
Patient will have to 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.
