Rolando McClain was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. You may remember him from his college days, where he was an All-American and a member of the 2010 national championship-winning Alabama Crimson Tide. Or you may remember the linebacker from the above photo, in which he's smiling while being arrested on gun charges on December 1, 2011, in Decatur, Alabama.
On the field, McClain has been a disappointment this season for the highly disappointing 3-8 Raiders. On Wednesday, the linebacker didn't practice for the Raiders due to "team-related issues" according to Oakland head coach Dennis Allen. And later in the day, McClain wrote on his Facebook wall that he's "officially no longer an Oakland Raider", that he'd like to be "anywhere besides here (Oakland)", and that he's "looking forward to playing for an actual 'team'":
Former Bama LB Rolando McClain no longer with OAK.He writes: I'm gonna weigh my options. Looking forward to playing for an actual 'team'.
— Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) November 28, 2012
McClain on Facebook: "Officially no longer an Oakland Raider!!" and "I'd like to be anywhere besides here"
— Kyle Burger (@kyle_burger) November 28, 2012
Then, Rolando McClain posted this: "Well technically I am. But I'm mentally done. Just waiting on my papers"
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 28, 2012
The Raiders say Rolando McClain is still on the team. His reps say they have not been notified. McClain, apparently, disagrees #weird
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 28, 2012
And poof. Rolando McClain's Facebook wall has been wiped clean of that long thread about the Raiders kinda sorta maybe cutting him.As you can see in the tweets from NFL.Com/NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, McClain is apparently still on the Raiders' roster, but McClain doesn't see that being the case for long. And he clearly doesn't want that to be the case, anyway.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 28, 2012
Just what the Raiders need right now, right? Yikes. As they say in Seinfeld, "That's not gonna be good for business." "That's not gonna be good for anybody."
This looks very bad for the Raiders with one of their players basically saying that the Raiders are not a 'team'. That could be in reference to a number of things with the players, coaching staff, and front office, but whatever the case, it doesn't look good for a struggling 3-8 team.
And it doesn't look good at all for McClain either. That's not how you go about your business in the NFL. Add on his trouble with the law and lackluster performance on the field, and I doubt too many teams are lining up right now for his services, which is pretty incredible given the fact he was the No. 8 overall pick just two years ago.
So, it'll be interesting to see if McClain is officially released in the next couple of days, and if so, where he ends up next. I don't see how the Raiders can keep him around after his comments. If they do, he's going to have one hell of a (forced) apology on the way.
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