ARLINGTON, Texas _ Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain faces a year suspension, a source confirmed Sunday. ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report McClain's missed drug test.
Because McClain has appealed the suspension, the league has not officially informed the Cowboys of the missed test, the source said. The league counts a missed test as a positive test.
The Cowboys will not release McClain in an attempt to recoup the signing bonus, per the source. They re-signed McClain to a one-year, $4 million contract, including a $750,000 signing bonus, on March 9. The league first suspended McClain on June 30 for testing positive for opiates.
Suspended for 10 games, McClain was eligible to return to practice Monday and play Thursday. However, owner Jerry Jones said last week the Cowboys didn't expect him back.
McClain has remained absent from The Star and does not have a locker at the facility. The Cowboys placed him on the reserve/did not report list when he failed to report to training camp.
McClain has not been with the Cowboys since a mandatory June minicamp.
"His status will remain how it is today," Jones said last week. "He will remain as he is today. And I don't have a lot more to say about this."
Jones, though, also said McClain still had a desire to play and was in great shape after weighing 285 pounds in the spring.
If the year-long suspension stands, McClain can apply for reinstatement in November 2017.
Arriving in a trade with Baltimore after retiring and sitting out the 2013 season, McClain made 23 starts, with 167 tackles, three interceptions, three defensed passes and three sacks.
