Rolando McClain agrees to re-sign with Cowboys

By Evan Massey | Apr 1, 2015

Dec 21, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain (55) on the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

The Dallas Cowboys and linebacker Rolando McClain finally agreed on a one-year deal after a very impressive 2014 season.

Rolando McClain has had a roller coaster NFL career, and actually retired from the game a couple of years ago. He hadn’t found success and was sick of failing to live up to the expectations. Finally, he decided to give football one more chance and Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones jumped on the opportunity.

According to a report from Ed Werder, the Cowboys and McClain agreed to a new one-year deal to keep him in town after an impressive showing last year.

#Cowboys have agreed to contract with MLB Rolando McLain on deal worth $3M base and another $1M in play-time incentives. #Pats also offered
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) April 1, 2015

McClain ended up recording 81 tackles, two interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble during the 2014 season. It wasn’t expected to be a very good season for Dallas, but they ended up winning the NFC East and also winning their first playoff game against the Detroit Lions. Dallas needed their defense to find a way to step up, and McClain was one of the players that stepped up individually and assumed a leadership role.

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At just 25 years old, McClain has an incredibly bright future ahead of him. There wasn’t a ton of interest in him on the open free agent market, but he did go on a visit with the New England Patriots before leaving without a contract offer.

Perhaps teams were nervous to give him an offer and depend on him due to the one season that he has had that type of success. He only ended up getting a potential $4 million deal, which isn’t that much. Even Dallas wasn’t being too terribly aggressive trying to bring him back after the big year that he had last season.

No matter what the issue was, Dallas and McClain finally worked something out that made both parties happy.

It will be interesting to see what type of production he puts out on the field next season for the Cowboys. They are certainly going to rely on him to come back and be the type of leader and playmaker that he was in 2014. He has the physical ability to replicate the type of production that he had last year, but he has been known to completely disappear throughout his career to this point.

Despite all of the concerns that have been thrown around about him, McClain has put the disappointments behind him and is ready to prove himself for the second straight season. Dallas is a perfect place for him, and it was smart for him to stick with a team that he is comfortable with.

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