For the third time this offseason, a key member of the Cowboys defense has been hit with a suspension.
The team announced on Thursday that Rolando McClain has been suspended for the first 10 games of the 2016 season for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.
McClain now joins teammates DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory on the NFL's suspension list.
Gregory, who was suspended in February, was docked four games for violating the same policy as McClain. However, McClain was hit with a more severe punishment because it's the second time that he's been suspended under the league's substance-abuse policy.
The middle linebacker was also handed a suspension in 2015, which caused him to miss the first four games of the season.
As for Lawrence, who was suspended in April, the Cowboys' starting defensive end thought he had a good chance of getting his suspension overturned, but that didn't happen. The team announced on Thursday that Lawrence's appeal has officially been denied, which means he'll miss the first four games of the 2016 season.
The three suspensions mean that the Cowboys will start the season without three of their projected defensive starters.
Although the Cowboys are undoubtedly concerned about all three players, they're probably most concerned with McClain, who's ran into trouble several times during his five-year career.
The Cowboys linebacker has basically been on thin ice almost since the day he was selected No. 8 overall by the Raiders in the 2010 draft.
Since then, McClain has retired twice and been arrested three times. McClain's most recent retirement came in April 2014 after a very brief offseason stint with the Ravens.
After things didn't work out in Baltimore, the Ravens traded McClain to Dallas in July 2014. Although he's revitalized his career with the Cowboys, the team clearly views him as a risk, which is why they've only signed him to a series of one-year deals since his arrival.
McClain's latest contract, which he signed in March, was a one-year deal worth up to $5 million. However, thanks to the suspension, McClain won't be able to earn anywhere near that number.
The linebacker was set to get $125,000 for every game he was on the active roster plus another $1 million if he played in 75 percent of the team's defensive snaps. Due to the suspension, McClain will miss out on at least $2.25 million in bonuses (numbers via Spotrac).
It's not clear who will take McClain's spot at middle linebacker, but it will likely be either Sean Lee or Anthony Hitchens.
