Baltimore Ravens linebacker Rolando McClain is retiring for a second time.
McClain was due to report to the Baltimore Ravens for the first day of the team’s offseason workout program, but decided not to return.
In a text message to ESPN.com, McClain wrote: “I gotta follow my heart. It ain’t football. If football made me complete I would play. But whenever I think of it my heart pulls me away from whatever reason. … This means I’m done.”
The Ravens activated McClain, 24, off the reserve-retired list last week.
The Oakland Raiders released McClain last year after a series of arrests, and the Ravens signed him to a one-year contract at the veteran minimum of $700,000.
McClain has not played football since 2012 and was not a sure thing to make the Ravens’ roster. He was late for a workout with team officials last week, according to multiple reports. However, he later denied that was the case. According to reports, he failed a conditioning test and faced the possibility of being released.
“Now I know God has something else planned for me and that my life is bigger than football,” he also wrote in the text message.
McClain was the No. 8 overall pick of the Raiders in 2010 after a stellar collegiate career at Alabama, including winning the Lambert award as the nation’s top linebacker. He had 246 tackles and 6.5 sacks in his three seasons with the Raiders, but was arrested three times in less than one year — leading to his release.
After signing with the Ravens, he abruptly retired, saying he wanted to get his “priorities straight.” He re-enrolled at Alabama to work toward a degree in family financial planning.