Rolando McClain doesn’t have a lot of things going right for him these days. The former first-round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders eventually fell out favor with the team. When the Raiders aren’t willing to keep you around, that’s the first sign of trouble.
But McClain is a former Alabama standout. He’s got the skills to play in the NFL, and now that he’s out of the Black Hole, he can finally salvage his professional career.
Five days after getting his release from Oakland, McClain signed on with the Baltimore Ravens, one of the league’s most highly praised franchises, and icing on the cake, the defending Super Bowl champions.
One month later, McClain returned to his couch.
McClain hung up his cleats and announced his retirement from the NFL just 33 days after joining the Ravens. Shocked, stunned, and left without words — I don’t blame you. The former first-round pick with a decorated college career and his whole future ahead of him opted instead of take the fast lane out of the sport.
To give McClain some credit, he did it to straighten up things in his personal life. I support that, and his devotion to get out of off-the-field trouble. McClain was dealing with an arrest on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in Decatur, Ala., when he was accused of allegedly pointing a gun at another man and firing it next to his head. He was arrested in Decatur again two years later after giving a false name to a police officer during a traffic stop.
In between the arrests, he had been suspended by Raiders coach Dennis Allen for conduct detrimental to the team.
But McClain must have thought his life was back together when he decided to try and revive his NFL career, again with the Ravens. The team granted a tryout to the 24-year-old who spent a year away from the game. Earlier this month, McClain said he was “training and preparing as if I’m going to come back,” adding that his time away from the sport allowed him to get his “priorities straight.”
After Tuesday’s debacle, his comments seem a bit off.
Dressed to impress — not so fast. Eager to show he’s righted his wrongs — nope. At least he showed up on time, right? Ehhh.
McClain began his comeback attempt by showing up late to the Ravens’ facilities. The 24-year-old reportedly “bombed” his workout with the team, first unable to finish his conditioning test, then failing to perform any of the other drills. Now that’s somebody who has gotten his priorities in order.
This essentially should stick the nail in the coffin on McClain’s NFL career. His off-the-field troubles are nothing to poke fun of, but the fact that in a year away from the game he was unable to stay in shape or even learn time management to show up to an interview on time is simply laughable. The latter is especially troubling, as most job interviews require candidates to make it there on time, which apparently is too much to ask of McClain.
