Rolando McClain no-show to Cowboys' camp, team offers no details
Well, Dallas Cowboys training camp isn’t off to an auspicious start.
Perpetually troubled linebacker Rolando McClain did not show for the team charter from Dallas to Oxnard, Calif., where the team holds training camp, on Thursday, and had not showed as of Friday afternoon.
The team placed both McClain and Randy Gregory on the reserve/did not report list, opening up two roster spots.
Where the Cowboys knew that Gregory wouldn’t be showing – news came Monday that he was checking into a treatment facility for an unspecified problem – it appears McClain being M.I.A. is a surprise.
And the notoriously chatty Dallas braintrust didn’t offer details on Friday afternoon.
Asked multiple questions about McClain’s whereabouts during a “state of the Cowboys” news conference, neither team owner Jerry Jones nor chief operating officer Stephen Jones shed much light on the situation:
"He's not here and we'll move on," Stephen Jones says of Rolando McClain.
— Matt Mosley (@mattmosley) July 29, 2016
Stephen Jones declines to address Rolando McClain's situation when asked about last time they spoke to him and if he wants to play football.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) July 29, 2016
Why not just release Rolando McClain? Jerry Jones: "A lot of nuances that we're not going to get into."
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 29, 2016
McClain is suspended for the first 10 games of the regular season for another violation of the NFL’s policy on substance abuse, but like most other suspended players, McClain can take part in training camp and preseason games, and his suspension begins on the first day of the regular season.
One other note from the Cowboys’ news conference: linebacker Damien Wilson is starting camp on the physically unable to perform list after being shot in the eye by a paintball gun.
Off to a great start out there in Oxnard.