Rolando McClain is retiring

[Corvus]

Glad that he is off the team now, never wanted him as a Raven in the first place.

That said, I wish him the best of luck in straightening his life out. Hopefully with the extra time now he can figure things out and move forward to do the best things for himself and his family.

[Yatagarasu]

Well, that settles that.

[rmw10]

I do have a feeling that this story isn't over though.

[edthehead]

I think there is alot more to the story,,,but my question is this, he wants to comes back lets say in 2 years,we have his rights to keep or trade

[Ozzsome]

Don't forget DHB. Really sad there.

I wanted to include him but at least he's still in the league

[codizzle]

I love that some commenting on others being judgmental and harsh are ones that put people they know nothing about on blast on a football forum.

At least when I said "so pathetic" I could honestly say his "situation and time spent in the league was pathetic..simple as that

. I don't know him personally so I wouldn't comment on him specifically as a person but from what he has shown since being in the league is that he has a lot of maturing to do which is sad

[GrimCoconut]

What does that do for the team? I don't understand.

If they have potential/talent and aren't too big of a headache, they get signed. Rolando McClain, Terrell Owens, Plaxico Burress, Michael Vick, Donte Stallworth, Lawrence Phillips, Matt Jones, LeGarrette Blount, even guys like Albert Haynesworth and Ryan Leaf got multiple chances

If they don't have the talent or their headaches outweigh it, they don't get signed. Jamarcus Russell, Vince Young, Titus Young, Todd Marinovich, Charles Rogers

I don't find fault with teams for not signing problem players. The players blew the opportunity and, in the process, did things that ensured they would not be anywhere near an NFL roster (which is a whole lot).

And Titus Young DID get a second chance now that I think about it. Blew that, too.

It helps the Ravens in terms of receiving a label of being willing to bring troubled players here. We've done it over the years. Donte Stallworth was another guy. Not all teams do that. Nobody really wanted Stallworth after his situation IIRC.

That's also a bit of a false statement you made regarding those players not having talent. They obviously have talent. They just never realized their potential.

The bottom line is we have been willing to give guys with troubled pasts a second chance. Obviously other teams do and have done the same. Our quality brand with high character guys in addition to our willingness to help troubled players increases the value of our brand compared to other teams. It's a combination of factors.


http://russellstreetreport.com/ravens-smart-to-extend-2nd-chance-to-mcclain/

The article of which I am referring. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

[BloodRaven]

Talent without heart is worthless, this is good for us.

[ddavid]

Do we have to pay him anything for this waste of time?

he wasnt garenteed any money so no luckily

[Clayton Bigsby]

We really need to do something about our ILBs.

 

Jameel, as someone already pointed out, wasn't anything spectacular prior to his injury.

 

Arthur is making the transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 which is HUGE. He's already undersized and will be asked to take on powerful NFL linemen in his rookie season. He hasn't really had the chance to season himself in the weight room yet.

 

I don't remember Bynes doing too much either in his starts.

[ddavid]

its realy a shame to see him go this early. he may have had problems but any one can turn their life around. iv turned mine around for the best, an was hopeful tht he would to, would have been nice to have his talent on the field, very unfortunate for him cause now he gonna go work at a normal job an live a regular lifestyle instead of bein a possible nfl star. not what i would have chose but maybe he knows being in the nfl brings to much attention to him an with tht much of a spotlight on you im sure its hard to do the right thing especialy with all the money the nfl throws around

 

[jraven22]

Im kind of glad he's gone. He had some potential but was to trouble and too much of a project.

[443hurricane]

The sad part about the whole retirement is Rolando McClain will be broke before he turns 30. I mean think about this he has to support a wife and three kids and he's only 23.

[GrimCoconut]

I love that some commenting on others being judgmental and harsh are ones that put people they know nothing about on blast on a football forum.

At least when I said "so pathetic" I could honestly say his "situation and time spent in the league was pathetic..simple as that

. I don't know him personally so I wouldn't comment on him specifically as a person but from what he has shown since being in the league is that he has a lot of maturing to do which is sad

Well, I wasn't necessarily referring to you with my post, and I'm not certain whether or not you're referring to my post, either. With that said, you didn't exactly elaborate on your opinion. You just left it as "So pathetic", which could be difficult to interpret on a football forum without inflection. 

[beanfigger]

The sad part about the whole retirement is Rolando McClain will be broke before he turns 30. I mean think about this he has to support a wife and three kids and he's only 23.

 

Who knows?  Maybe amongst all the bad decisions he's made, he is really good with money.  $22mil+ can go a long way if someone knows what to do with it.  Lawyer and court fees do add up, though.

[codizzle]

Well, I wasn't necessarily referring to you with my post, and I'm not certain whether or not you're referring to my post, either. With that said, you didn't exactly elaborate on your opinion. You just left it as "So pathetic", which could be difficult to interpret on a football forum without inflection.

Correct.. And I said pathetic based off of what we know of him as a player and what has been released over the past few years..

I wasn't doing as others and making general assumptions which is why I responded to all of it

And also why I prefer To stay in OT... Everyone has to think they're right in RT.. Funny stuff

[GrimCoconut]

Correct.. And I said pathetic based off of what we know of him as a player and what has been released over the past few years..

I wasn't doing as others and making general assumptions which is why I responded to all of it

And also why I prefer To stay in OT... Everyone has to think they're right in RT.. Funny stuff

I don't know about being right or wrong. I just think McClain's getting a bit of a lot of hate and he has certainly deserved his criticism. I just felt like some of the words used towards him were unjustified, brash, & done off of immediate emotional impulses. I was more surprised with the way some responded more than anything. I would think those who didn't want him here would be thrilled he retired.  

 

It's very sad that McClain has never come close to living up to his potential as a top-8 draft pick. 

[Ray Ray Ravens]

Maybe he has a inside scoop on what is going to happen at this trial. Maybe he is looking at serving 6 months to a year. Instead of having that take him out of football he is doing it himself now. Him retiring sounds a lot better for another chance somewhere then to lose his spot to a stint in jail.

[berad]

It helps the Ravens in terms of receiving a label of being willing to bring troubled players here. We've done it over the years. Donte Stallworth was another guy. Not all teams do that. Nobody really wanted Stallworth after his situation IIRC.

That's also a bit of a false statement you made regarding those players not having talent. They obviously have talent. They just never realized their potential.

The bottom line is we have been willing to give guys with troubled pasts a second chance. Obviously other teams do and have done the same. Our quality brand with high character guys in addition to our willingness to help troubled players increases the value of our brand compared to other teams. It's a combination of factors.


http://russellstreetreport.com/ravens-smart-to-extend-2nd-chance-to-mcclain/

The article of which I am referring. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

I think all teams do that. I can't think of any teams that pass up troubled yet talented players, entirely. If they have potential and the headache can be dealt with, teams will be lining up. If the headache outweighs the potential, they will be left out.

And I agree it was a smart, no-risk signing by the Ravens but not for the reasons they laid out.

[tctony]

What a bizarre situation. 

 

I was hoping he worked out.

 

Good riddance. 

[Yatagarasu]

At least, he didn't go without a flash like Titus Young.

[codizzle]

I don't know about being right or wrong. I just think McClain's getting a bit of a lot of hate and he has certainly deserved his criticism. I just felt like some of the words used towards him were unjustified, brash, & done off of immediate emotional impulses. I was more surprised with the way some responded more than anything. I would think those who didn't want him here would be thrilled he retired.

It's very sad that McClain has never come close to living up to his potential as a top-8 draft pick.

Agreed some possibly were emotional impulses. I tend to react a certain way to any adult who makes decisions similar to those McClain has made and been arrested for.. Not much patience there

All in all I hope he figures it all out and all that good stuff

[PurpleCityLights]

If this means he gets his life in order, then I congratulate him. I am sadden a little just because I would have liked to see "What could've been". Good or bad, just wanted to see. Best of luck in retirement, McClain.

This.....

[GrimCoconut]

I suppose this means #51 is available? Lol.

[rmw10]

I suppose this means #51 is available? Lol.

 

I'll take it!

[flynismo]

Probably the smartest thing he has ever done. He needs to get his head right before he does anything else in life...hope he gets it together

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I could be wrong, but I think I remember the league fining players in the past for getting in trouble off the field on the basis of being employed by the NFL their behavior is conduct detrimental to the brand.

 

Maybe he and his lawyers found a loop hole that by retiring he avoids any and all fines/discipline from the league and can unretire once all his legal matters are settled.

 

It's definitely just a guess, but I cant think of any other reason for a 23 year old with no injuries to retire. I understand the whole "get your life together" thing, but you dont have to retire to do that. You can take a year off from playing without actually retiring. 

 

However, if penalties were built into his contract for not showing up, and the league is going to fine you for getting in trouble, or if you know youre going to jail and it will interfere with training camp, pre season or even longer - retiring is the only way to avoid financial penalty.

 

Whether he is going to jail or fines were about to come down from the league and/or team, I think we will see him unretire once the dust settles. I feel strongly this is just to avoid financial issues.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I hope he does unretire at some point this year. I dont think we need him by any stretch of the imagination and im confident in the guys we have to get the job done - but i was excited to see how this turned out. His potential is through the roof... if he didnt we cut him and it wouldnt cost us anything.

 

Im hoping we can still see this play out on the field at some point. Does anyone know if there are rules regarding retirement? Like do you ahve to wait a certain period of time before coming back?

 

I know Favre retired/came back like 100 times in a matter of 3 or 4 years but i dont know if he had to wait a certain amount of time in between.

[sflegend89]

Gonna see him on one of those broke athletes lists in a few years. The guy has all the talent in the world to play the position at an NFL level and he just throws it away. Shame his talent and size could't have gone to someone with a head on their shoulders and a competitive drive to be the best. I'm just glad we found out how mentally fickle this guy is now, instead of once the season starts. Get him off the roster before camp starts, at least he had the courtesy to do this now and not take a roster spot from someone in camp who actually wants to play football.

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

i don't like unfinished business and this looks like one, wanted to see if he's really good, proving himself raven worthy or not - this is just like... up in the air