The Oakland Raiders are 3-8 and have been one of the worst teams in the NFL this season.
The team is starting to look towards next year and made their first move, cutting linebacker Rolando McClain and placing him on waivers, according to sources who told John Clayton at ESPN.com.
The source said that McClain would be released on Thursday.
McClain himself posted on Facebook that he is no longer with the team, but later that post was deleted.
According to the Mercury News, he wrote: "Officially no longer an Oakland Raider!! Well technically I am. But I'm mentally done. Just waiting on my papers" and "I'd like to be anywhere besides here."
McClain did not practice with the team on Wednesday and head coach Dennis Allen said that it was due to "team-related issues." When asked about the situation more, he commented: "No more details, no more comments. Just team-related issues," according to the Mercury News.
According to the report, "The Raiders have until 1 p.m. Thursday to submit McClain to the waiver wire for the transaction to kick in that day. A team spokesman said he doesn't know whether that's going to take place."
This season, McClain hasn't been an every-down played in Allen's defensive scheme and has made 60 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble while playing in 11 games.
According to the Mercury News, "McClain is earning $970,000 this season in base salary. He is slated to make $4,005,000 in 2013, $4,805,000 in 2014 and $2,665,000 in 2015."
Omar Gathier is likely to take McClain's place after signing with the team on Nov. 14. He has played special teams in the past two games and has made one tackle this season.
The Raiders defense has been one of the worst in the league and is allowing over 130 rushing yards per game, ranking 28th in the league.
McClain was drafted out of Alabama with the eighth pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He won a BCS championship with the Crimson Tide in his last season and signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the Raiders as a rookie.
He was the last first round pick by former Raiders owner Al Davis and posted 85 tackles, 0.5 sacks, one interception and six passes defended in his rookie year.
McClain has dealt with some issues off the field, including an incident in December of last year when he was charged with "third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm inside the city limits" while at home in Alabama, according to the Contra Costa Times. He was cleared of the charges recently after making an appeal.
According to Bill Williamson at ESPN's AFC West Blog, "McClain never lived up to his billing on the field. He was out of shape, slow and often out of position. He didn't show the instincts expected from a top-10 pick."
The move is another departure from the previous leadership of the franchise. According to SFGate.com, "McClain would be the 27th player that new general manager Reggie McKenzie has erased from the roster since last year's Week 17 loss to the Chargers."
Oakland has lost four games in a row and has given up at least 43 points in each game. The team gave up 55 points in a road loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 11 and gave up 42 the previous week in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Oakland defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-31 in Week 3 for their first win of the season, then lost two-straight to Denver and Atlanta. The only other wins for Oakland this year have come against the two worst teams in the NFL, against the 2-9 Jacksonville Jaguars and the 1-10 Kansas City Chiefs.
Things have looked pretty bad for the Raiders, but they got some good news on Wednesday as running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson returned to practice after dealing with injuries, according to SFGate.com.
Both players have missed three games with ankle injures and were hurt in the 42-32 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 4.
"It's great just to see them in the huddle," quarterback Carson Palmer said to SFGate.com. ''It feels like it's been a lot longer than it actually has. But just good to see them in the huddle and see them get reps and see Darren smiling and hitting the hole hard, and same thing with Goody. Good for the team but also good for the offense to have those guys back."
Head coach Dennis Allen said that both players took first-team snaps and may play against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Running back Marcel Reece has played in the absence of the two and has rushed for 225 yards and zero touchdowns over the past three games and has made 15 receptions for 175 yards.
"Marcel has earned the right to carry the ball some," Allen said. "We'll still use him in that capacity."
McFadden has rushed for 455 yards and two touchdowns this season, but his injury made the Raiders into one of the worst rushing teams in the league, gaining just 82 yards per game, ranked 29th in the NFL.
