The Dallas Cowboys should truly see what Rolando McClain has to offer

Former Dallas Cowboys LB Rolando McClain has reportedly been conditionally reinstated by the NFL. Owning his rights, Dallas should see what he can do.

The NFL is a very tricky league, where one Sunday could see a team on a collision course with the Superbowl, while the next Sunday could see their chances all but obliterated. More than often, these types of situations are the results of injuries. This is something the Dallas Cowboys have endured before during the Tony Romo era.

What makes this a relevant topic now is the fact that the Dallas Cowboys are seemingly in a title-contending position heading into this season. Furthermore is the fact that one of their strengths is their defense and especially their dynamic linebacker core, where two of the three main backers have a bit of a checkered injury history.

Linebacker Sean Lee has been in and out of the lineup across his career because of injury while newly extended Jaylon Smith had that awful ACL injury in college that saw him take quite a while to get fully back from. While Smith has been the picture of health since becoming a Cowboy, you never can be too sure when it comes to something as serious and as finicky as an ACL. That is where the Rolando McClain news enters the fray.

According to multiple reports, the linebacker has been conditionally reinstated into the NFL, but the Cowboys still own his rights for a reported $5 million dollars for one year. With all of the above, the Cowboys Super Bowl hopes coupled with the past of their linebacking core, McClain may be the perfect insurance policy.

The last season he played was the last of the two he played for the Cowboys, with that being in 2015. In those two seasons, he played in 24 games where he started in 23 of the contest. He had a combined three interceptions, a defensive touchdown scored, a forced fumble, three sacks, 167 tackles with 18 of those being tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hits.

With what he showed during his time with the team, if he is still in good shape overall, he could be of service to the current version of the team. If one of the feature guys at the position were to go down, why not hold onto a guy who has been a really good starter for you and may even still have that ability?

The Dallas Cowboys defense is a strength of this team and will be needed if they hope to accomplish their ultimate goal this season. While Sean Lee is known to miss a game or two every year for the most part, Rolando McClain could potentially all but make that a moot point. That is why the Cowboys should at least kick the tires and see what he still has to offer.

Update: According to Pro Football Talk, a source says the Dallas Cowboys plan to release Rolando McClain, making him a free agent. This isn’t surprising since the Cowboys were unlikely to pay his previous $5 million salary. This move does not preclude the Cowboys from re-signing McClain to a much more reasonable contract.