Rolando McClain retired at the age of 23. He's hoping to launch a comeback at 24.
The Carroll County Times reported Monday, via a source close to the player, that McClain "is in a better place mentally," is working out regularly and has been telling people for months that he plans to return to football in 2014.
The trouble-prone linebacker signed with the Baltimore Ravens last spring, but retired shortly after an arrest for disorderly conduct. It was McClain's third arrest since entering the league as the eighth overall pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 2010 NFL Draft.
After his retirement, McClain re-enrolled at Alabama and has spent time as a student assistant under Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.
"I admire the kid for coming back to Tuscaloosa, going to class and trying to get everything in his life outside of football situated," agent Pat Dye Jr. said last September. "It's not my decision to come back or not come back. I think ultimately he wants to play again. He's only 24 years old. He's talented. It's just a shame. It was such a great situation there in Baltimore."
The Ravens retain McClain's contractual rights, but you wonder if general manager Ozzie Newsome will still be interested during an offseason already marked bylegal troubles.
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