Rolando McClain arrested again; Ravens looking into incident

McClain is in trouble over an alleged incident which took place on April 21 in Decatur, Ala. According to reports, McClain shouted profanity at police when they arrived to answer a call and then tried twice to avoid being arrested by pulling his arms away.

After three years in the NFL, McClain retired amid legal problems. A first-round pick in 2010 out of Alabama, McClain has had plenty of off-the-field issues, including being convicted of third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment and illegal discharge of a firearm in the city limits, per the Sun.

Rolando McClain is out of college eligibility, but the NFL flameout has returned to school at Alabama after his professional football career didn’t pan out.

McClain announced his retirement in April after just three seasons in the NFL, deciding to call it quits after another arrest. After making $23 million off of his rookie contract, he’ll return to college to finish his degree and attempt to figure things out. His former coach Nick Saban welcomed McClain’s return to school while taking questions at a charity event, per AL.com:

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McClain was arrested on Sunday night in Decatur, Ala., and charged with disorderly conduct. In the grand scheme of things, McClain didn’t do much: he allegedly refused to follow a police officer’s orders to leave Pines Park, and began swearing at authorities, leading to his arrest.

If this were McClain’s first time on the wrong side of the law, it would simply be a footnote to his football story. Unfortunately, it’s not.

This is the third time the former first round pick has been arrested in Decatur since 2011. He and several other people allegedly refused police orders to leave Pines Park, and began cursing at the officers before eventually being arrested.

The Ravens signed the Alabama product earlier this April, and were hoping that he could restart his career in Baltimore while getting better guidance from the team. McClain’s deal is for one year and $700,000, but none of the money is guaranteed. It’s certainly possible that he could receive nothing and be released, but the team has not said anything publicly about his future.

Rolando McClain was arrested Sunday evening in his hometown of Decatur, Ala., after an incident occurred at Pines Park, according to Nick Banaszak of WHNT. Police charged the 23-year-old linebacker with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

McClain refused to leave the park after police officers ordered him and several others to vacate the premises. Witnesses said McClain began cursing at the officers and was eventually put in handcuffs.

Last year, first-time head coach Dennis Allen suspended McClain for the final two games for conduct detrimental to the team. Newsome says he’s willing to take on the challenge, per the Sun:

The Ravens are taking a chance by bringing in the former first-round pick in McClain, who has had issues galore off the field. Last year, McClain had a misdemeanor assault charged dropped against him in his home state of Alabama after the accuser failed to continue.

“It’s a move that can’t go wrong and I’m looking forward to playing in Baltimore as the Ravens run the same or very similar defense as I was a part of at the University of Alabama,” McClain said.

In 2011, it seemed McClain was on his way to breaking out. He appeared in 15 games, recording 77 tackles and five sacks. A concussion kept him out of a handful of games this past season, as did a two-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

He had originally signed a five-year deal worth $40 million, however, after he was kicked out of practice for undisclosed reasons in November of 2012, he took to Twitter and Facebook, saying he wished to play anywhere else other than Oakland, effectively ending his career with the Raiders.

McClain may lack sideline-to-sideline speed, but he makes a lot of plays between the tackles and has a nose for the ball. He should help the Ravens maintain their reputation for stout defense even after they lost two future Hall of Fame players and several others.

McClain, 23, didn’t put up tremendous numbers for the Raiders in his first three seasons in the NFL, but he was a solid player for the team, tallying 244 tackles, 6.5 sacks and an interception in 41 games played. Since being drafted, though, he has been arrested twice and had a public falling-out with the Raiders, which included comments that he’d “like to be anywhere” other than with the team that drafted him eighth overall in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Schefter also drew the connection that Ozzie Newsome, general manager of the Ravens, is an alma mater of Alabama, the school where McClain was a unanimous All-American and named the winner of the Lambert Award and Butkus Award.

McClain, 23, was the eighth overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft and was an instant starter for the Raiders. However, in his three seasons with the team, he captured more attention for his troubles off the field, as he was arrested in 2011 for third-degree assault and again in January 2013 for a window tint violation that was exacerbated when McClain provided the officer with a fake name.

After he was released by the Raiders, McClain went unclaimed on waivers, as teams would’ve been hung with the large contract that came with a top 10 draft pick prior to the rookie wage scale if they elected to put in a waiver claim. That doesn’t mean that teams are uninterested though, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that five teams have interest in McClain’s services and three have already made contract offers.

Sources spoke to Ian Rapoport, who tweeted that he expects McClain’s courtship to end quickly thanks in part to his proactive agent. McClain was reportedly seeking a trade this offseason after a very public falling out with the Raiders late during the 2012 regular season. After being kicked out of a practice, he took to Twitter and Facebook to say that he was done with Oakland.

McClain immediately became one of the top free agents available when he wasn’t picked up off waivers. Since being drafted No. 8 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft, he has been prolific, racking up 244 tackles, 6.5 sacks and an interception in 41 games played. Apparently there are at least three teams that aren’t put off by his falling out with the Raiders.

The Raiders were going to owe the former first-round pick a base salary of $4.005 million in 2013 and $5.805 million in 2014, and, according to Evan Silva, it’s a “safe bet” that he’ll clear waivers.

McClain was selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Alabama by the Raiders with the No. 8 overall pick. In his three years with the team, he has made 244 tackles, 6.5 sacks, one safety and intercepted one pass. Late in the 2012 season, McClain was kicked out of a team practice and immediately took to Twitter and Facebook, saying that he was done with the team and wished he was anywhere else. The Raiders had hopes at one point of trading McClain to avoid losing him and getting nothing in return. His release is news to no one.

After telling everyone that he had been released from the Raiders altogether, a two-game suspension might not actually sound that bad to McClain.

The 23-year-old linebacker has put up 60 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble so far in the 2012 season for Oakland.

McClain, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, has been held out of Raiders practices since Tuesday after he went on a Facebook tirade in which he said he wanted to play for a “real team,” and posted, “Officially no longer an Oakland Raider!!”

McClain has since deleted the posts, and the claims he made were denied by the organization.

The Oakland Tribune’s Jerry McDonald reports that head coach Dennis Allen was resistant to say why exactly McClain was told not to appear at practice.

The starting middle linebacker had posted on his Facebook Wednesday that he was gladly no longer with the Raiders on Wednesday, but he shortly thereafter deleted the post, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Oakland soon after said he was still part of their 53-man roster, though it’s clear he did something to put his status into question.