 McClain with the Oakland Raiders in 2010 | |||||||||||||
| No. 55 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1989-07-14)July 14, 1989 (age 35) Athens, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 254 lb (115 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Decatur (Decatur, Alabama) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Alabama (2007–2009) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2010: 1st round, 8th pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Rolando Marquise McClain (born July 14, 1989) is an American former professionalfootball player who was alinebacker in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theAlabama Crimson Tide, earningunanimous All-American honors in 2009 and winning the2010 BCS National Championship. He was selected eighth overall by theOakland Raiders in the2010 NFL draft, and also played in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys.
McClain attendedDecatur High School inDecatur, Alabama, where he played linebacker andtight end for the Decatur Red Raidershigh school football team. As a junior, he made 104 tackles, 11 for loss, four sacks, an interception, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery to go along with his 24 receptions for 436 yards on the offensive side of the ball. McClain's senior season ended with 106 tackles and 13 for loss, which led toParade All-American honors, and selection to play in the firstOffense-Defense All-American Bowl inFort Lauderdale, Florida.
During his high school years, he was diagnosed withCrohn's disease,[1] although later tests seemed to indicate that was amisdiagnosis.[2]
Considered a four-star recruit byRivals.com,[3] McClain was listed as the No. 2 inside linebacker in the nation in 2007.[4] He chose Alabama over offers fromAuburn,Ole Miss,Mississippi State,Vanderbilt,Kentucky, andLouisville.
McClain accepted anathletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Alabama, where he played for coachNick Saban'sAlabama Crimson Tide football team from2007 to2009.
As atrue freshman in 2007, McClain started 8 of 13 games, finishing the season with 75tackles, twointerceptions, and asack. He was recognized as aSoutheastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman selection.
As a sophomore in2008, McClain compiled 95 tackles, three sacks, and an interception, earningAssociated Press (AP) third-teamAll-American honors, and was a first-team All-SEC selection.
During his junior year in 2009, McClain had 105 tackles including 14.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, fourteen quarterback hurries, two interceptions, three passes broken up, and a forced fumble. He was namedFootball Writers Association of America (FWAA) National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance againstKentucky in early October.[5] Following theSEC Championship Game, Rolando was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and a first-team All-SEC selection.
On December 7, 2009, McClain was announced as the winner of the 2009Lambert Award for the best collegiate linebacker.[6] He is the first Alabama linebacker to win the Lambert Award since its inception in 1991. A day later, he was also awarded the 2009Dick Butkus Award, being only the second Crimson Tide player to do so (along withDerrick Thomas in 1988).[7] He was recognized a unanimous first-team All-American, after being named to the first teams of theAmerican Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America,Sporting News, andWalter Camp Football Foundation.[8][9]
On January 11, 2010, a few days after winning theBCS National Championship, McClain decided to forgo his senior year at Alabama and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.[10]
| Season | Team | Class | GP | Tackling | Interceptions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmb | Solo | Ast | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | ||||
| 2007 | Alabama | FR | 13 | 74 | 38 | 36 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Alabama | SO | 14 | 95 | 48 | 47 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | Alabama | JR | 14 | 105 | 53 | 52 | 14.5 | 4.0 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 41 | 274 | 139 | 135 | 31.5 | 8.0 | 5 | 73 | 14.6 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft3+3⁄8 in (1.91 m) | 254 lb (115 kg) | 33 in (0.84 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.68 s | 1.62 s | 2.72 s | 4.38 s | 7.16 s | 35.0 in (0.89 m) | 9 ft 1 in (2.77 m) | 24 reps | 16 |
| Measurables and BP from NFL Combine, all others from Alabama Pro Day[11][12] | ||||||||||||
McClain was selected by theOakland Raiders in the first round with the eighth overall pick in the2010 NFL draft.[13] He was the highest drafted Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker sinceKeith McCants went fourth overall to theTampa Bay Buccaneers in the1990 NFL draft.
McClain signed his contract with the Raiders on July 28, 2010, in time to make the first day of training camp. The contract was estimated to be for $40 million over 5 years.[14]
McClain finished his first season with 85 tackles (second on the team), 0.5 sacks, one interception, and 6 passes defended. In week 2 of the 2010 season against theSt. Louis Rams, McClainbody slammedDanny Amendola, which drew an "unnecessary roughness" call and eventually a $5,000 fine by the NFL.[15] He recorded his first career sack in week 7 againstKyle Orton of theDenver Broncos and his first career interception in week 12 againstChad Henne of theMiami Dolphins.
In 2011, he appeared in 15 games (14 starts), posting 99 tackles (second on the team), 77 solo tackles, 5 sacks, 14 passes defended, and one safety.
During the 2012 NFL season, in which the Raiders' defense struggled and was statistically the worst defense in the league, McClain saw his playing time decrease following a 37–6 rout by the division rivalDenver Broncos. During a week 4 game against Denver, McClain played in 73 snaps, but following the bye, the Raiders made the decision to replace him with 4th round rookieMiles Burris in their nickel package, resulting in McClain playing only 17 snaps compared to Burris' 55 in the week 6 game against theAtlanta Falcons. Head coachDennis Allen said he has been impressed with Burris' ability to make corrections on the fly, and that the linebacker was not a "repeat offender" when it came to mistakes and a smart football player overall, indicating the coaching staff's belief that McClain was guilty of poor decision-making and too many errors.[16] According to sources within the Raiders, it was reported by NFL.com's Albert Breer and Ian Rapoport that McClain had been kicked out of an official team practice session on November 29 due to an "incident".[17] McClain then took to social media outletFacebook and released a series of comments stating that he was ". . .no longer an Oakland Raider!!" and that he was ". . .mentally done." with the team, wishing ". . .to be anywhere besides here".[18] He appeared in 11 games (9 starts), registering 90 tackles, one sack, 3 passes defensed and one forced fumble.
After various off-the-field incidents, however, he was waived by the Raiders on April 5, 2013. McClain had been drafted with the hopes that he could help improve the Raiders' run defense, an area where the team had been consistently among the worst in the league. Following a string of poor first round picks by late owner/GMAl Davis, the selection of McClain was applauded by many analysts. However, throughout his tenure with the Raiders, the team remained poor at defending the run.[19]
McClain signed with theBaltimore Ravens on April 10, 2013.[20] The contract was reportedly a one-year, $700,000 deal that included no guaranteed money.[21] On May 15, McClain announced his retirement at the age of 23, before even the beginning of the offseasontraining camp.[22][23]
On July 1, 2014, after linebackerSean Lee was lost for the season, theDallas Cowboys acquired McClain along with a seventh-round pick (#243-Laurence Gibson) from the Ravens, in exchange for a sixth round pick in the2015 NFL draft (#204-Darren Waller).[24][25] At the time the move was seen as a gamble because of his previous career history and character concerns. The trade paid off, with McClain becoming an unquestioned team leader and playing a critical role in the resurgence of the Cowboys' previously suspect defense. Although he was slowed down with groin and knee injuries after week 9 of the season, the unit raised its level when he was healthy and was setting the tone with his physical style and play-making ability.[26] He finished with 12 starts in 13 games, one sack, five quarterback pressures, nine tackles for loss, two interceptions, five passes defensed, one forced fumble and 81 tackles. He also took part in his first NFL playoff games, but suffered concussions in both contests.
On April 1, 2015, McClain agreed to a new one-year, $3 million contract with the Cowboys. On July 2, the NFL announced that he would be suspended for the first four games of the2015 season for violating the league's substance abuse policy.[27] He also had a surprise knee surgery during the offseason, which forced him to miss the entire conditioning program and most of training camp. He played in 11 of 12 games as the startingmiddle linebacker, with Lee moving toweakside linebacker. Although he got off to a slow start in his return from the suspension, he finished with 97 tackles (third on the team), 2 sacks, 3 passes defensed, and returned an interception for a touchdown against theMiami Dolphins.
On March 9, 2016, McClain agreed to another one-year deal with the Cowboys for $5 million.[28] On June 30, he was suspended for the second season in a row for violating the NFL substance abuse policy, this time for the first 10 games of the 2016 NFL season.[29] Midway through the season, he then failed another drug test and his suspension was extended indefinitely.[30][31] On August 2, it was reported that McClain had become addicted tocodeine after consuming the mixture known aspurple drank, and that he is "a long way from ever resuming his NFL career".[32][33] Jason Cole ofBleacher Report said McClain's return to the Cowboys is "almost impossible".[33] In December 2016 he was suspended indefinitely.[34]
McClain was conditionally reinstated by the NFL on August 30, 2019.[35] However, he was released by the Cowboys when the reinstatement became official on September 2, 2019. He was suspended indefinitely again on December 30, 2019.[36]
On December 13, 2023, after eight years of inactivity, McClain was reinstated by the NFL and declared a free agent. Following the lift of the ban, McClain announced his intention to return to the NFL.[37]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2010 | OAK | 15 | 15 | 85 | 59 | 26 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | 6 |
| 2011 | OAK | 15 | 14 | 100 | 79 | 21 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 2012 | OAK | 11 | 9 | 60 | 37 | 23 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | DAL | 13 | 12 | 87 | 67 | 20 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2015 | DAL | 11 | 11 | 80 | 50 | 30 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 1 | 3 |
| Career | 65 | 61 | 412 | 292 | 120 | 9.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 12 | 1 | 23 | |
McClain was born inAthens, Alabama, to parents Roland Ervin Jr and Tonya Malone. He grew up in the projects ofDecatur, Alabama. At 15, Rolando received a restraining order against his mother after she beat him and threatened him with a knife. At 16, she was arrested after she threatened his entire high school which resulted in a school lock down. During the trial she was diagnosed as havingbipolar disorder. His estranged father was granted custody but McClain left to return to Decatur to stay eligible for football. He lived with several families his junior year. McClain could be considered to have been "on his own" since he was 15.[38]
In April 2013, McClain married Capri Knox, with whom he had two sons, and they moved toMadison, Alabama. McClain and Knox had first met in 2007 at theUniversity of Alabama where she was a member of theAlabama Track team.[39] In September 2013, he filed for divorce.[40] However, in an interview in October 2014, he said he wishes to be a better husband – thus records indicating that the two had been divorced since January 2014.[41]
Between his departure from the Ravens in May 2013 and his return to football with the Cowboys in July 2014, McClain moved toTuscaloosa, where he re-enrolled at the University of Alabama to try to finish hisbachelor's degree in familyfinancial planning.[23] He was still a few credits short of the degree when he joined the Cowboys.[42] In December 2017, McClain graduated from the University of Alabama.[43]
On December 1, 2011, McClain was arrested by Decatur police and charged with third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, and discharging a firearm inside the city limits, all of which are misdemeanors, for a shooting incident that occurred the night before.[44][45] On May 17, 2012, McClain was found guilty on all counts, ordered to pay a $500 fine for each charge, totaling $2,000, and sentenced to spend 45 days in jail for each charge, 180 in total. He was freed on bond, and will begin serving his sentence on June 1.[46] On November 18, 2012, while the case was on appeal, the charges were dismissed by the Judge after the victim decided not to press charges. According to lawyers involved, a financial settlement was reached between McClain and the victim.[47]
On January 8, 2013, he was arrested by Decatur Police in Morgan County after an officer pulled him over for a window tint violation. McClain provided the officer with a false name and he was arrested and booked into the Decatur City Jail. McClain bonded out of jail later that day.[48]
On April 21, 2013, McClain was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.[49]
On December 22, 2014, he lost his Tuscaloosa house due to a fire that was eventually ruled as anarson.[50] At the time, the house was vacant and listed for sale.
On August 2, 2016, after his suspension in June 2016 for violating the NFL substance abuse policy, it was reported that McClain had become addicted tocodeine after consuming the mixture known aspurple drank.[32][33]
On May 12, 2017, he was arrested on equipment violations, firearm and drug charges, according to the Hartselle Police Department.[51]
On July 30, 2022, he was arrested on drug and weapons charges, according to the Moulton Police Department.[52]
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