The Oakland Raiders have done a solid job of bringing in depth and personnel for the defense under head coach Dennis Allen, but one of those players is likely on his way out, as Rolando McClain has been given permission to seek a trade or will be released.
According to Yahoo Sports and Peter King on Twitter, the Raiders have given McClain the option of seeking a trade, saying that if a deal cannot be made, he will be cut and released from the roster. The former first-round pick has been riddled with personal issues on and off the field during his time with the team and he also has been a disappointment on the field.
King wrote on Twitter: "Sources: #Raiders have given permission for Rolando McClain's agent to facilitate a trade."
McClain was highly-regarded coming out of Alabama in the 2012 draft, but things quickly spiraled out for him, as he was not consistent on the field and he had multiple arrests during his time with the team. In 2011 he got into a strange situation where he allegedly pointed a gun at someone while home in Alabama and firing it near his head.
After being convicted and sentenced to jail time, the charges were dropped after the victim would not cooperate. Two years later, McClain had more trouble while at home in Alabama, as he was arrested again after giving a false name to a police officer after a traffics stop.
If McClain was a star on the field during that time, things may have been different, but he had a number of disappointing years with the team and then later got into an argument with Allen and was suspended for two games at the end of last season. In 2012 McClain recorded 62 tackles and a sack while playing in 48.11 percent of the snaps on defense.
During his short career, McClain has made 246 tackles, 6.5 sacks and one interception and in 2011 he showed his potential, playing in 14 games and recording five sacks and a career-high 14 passes defended. McClain is still young at just 24-years-old, but his personal problems could be an issue for some teams in the league.
McClain signed a five-year, $40.25 million contract and is set to make $4.255 million in 2013 and $6.055 million in 2014. According to the report, any team that trades for him will take on $3.635 million in guaranteed base salaries. The Raiders will be down another defensive player with the trade or release of McClain, who joins Michael Huff, Phillip Wheeler and Desmond Bryant as players that were released or signed elsewhere.
The team brought in Nick Roach from the Chicago Bears as well as Kevin Burnett from the Dolphins to deal with the loss of Wheeler and McClain now is part of that group as well. Roach signed a four-year, $13 million deal and will likely be the star of the linebackers with McClain gone.
The Raiders went just 4-12 last season and were one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Oakland hopes removing a failed draft pick and troubled player out of the locker room will help improve the defense. Brian Urlacher, Dwight Freeney and Karlos Dansby are all available and as time goes by and the price goes down, Oakland could be a fit.
