AFTER ALABAMA LB PLAYER SUSPENSION WAS LIFTED, HE DECIDED TO….

Former linebacker for Alabama After his suspension was lifted, Rolando McClain plans to rejoin the NFL.
Despite not having participated in an NFL game since 2015, McClain has always intended to return to the game.

According to an interview with Cowboys Country, former Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain plans to return to the professional ranks after being reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday.

“I had no intention of leaving football behind,” McClain said to Cowboys Country.

McClain hasn’t participated in an NFL game in almost a decade. He played for the Dallas Cowboys for the last time in 2015. At 34 years old, he can now sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.

The Oakland Raiders selected McClain with the eighth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Before being waived due to off-field concerns, he played for the Raiders for three seasons.

The linebacker joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 after announcing his retirement in 2013. Before his third season was again derailed by off-season issues, this time drug-related, McClain enjoyed a successful two-season stay in Dallas.

He was placed on indefinite leave in December 2016 following his repeated failures to pass Cowboys drug tests. In August 2019, the NFL conditionally reinstated him, but the Cowboys cut him loose right away. In December 2019, he was once more placed under indefinite suspension.

During his time in the NFL, McClain recorded 412 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and four interceptions while playing for the Raiders and Cowboys.

From 2007 to 2009, McClain played three seasons at Alabama, where he finished with numerous individual honors in his final year as a member of the Crimson Tide. McClain was a unanimous All-American, the recipient of the Butkus Award, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and he led Alabama to a national championship.

The report claims that McClain has received assistance from Alabama head coach Nick Saban and chief operating officer Ellis Ponder during the reinstatement process.