Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome wanted to give former Oakland Raiders washout Rolando McClain one more chance in the NFL. McClain responded by reportedly yelling expletives at police in Alabama, and he subsequently was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge.
For now, the Ravens are taking no action. They are waiting for the legal process to take its course, and The Baltimore Sun reported on Monday McClain's arrest will not change the Ravens' 2013 NFL Draft strategy.Â
The reasoning here: With or without McClain, the Ravens need more inside linebackers. Even though the Ravens were hopeful McClain could play a big role, he was guaranteed no money in his contract. His deal only could be worth a maximum of $1.1 million. That indicates he was not counted on as a long-term solution. It seems likely McClain will get cut, but that might have happened in training camp even without his legal trouble.Â
Even if McClain was expected to start, the Ravens were very thin at the position. In short: The defending Super Bowl champs needed to draft an inside linebacker before McClain's arrest. Now the Ravens might need to draft two of them.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
