McClain Suspension Won't Change Cowboys Plans for Sean Lee

Rolando McClain’s four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy won’t likely change the Dallas Cowboys’ plans to move Sean Lee to weakside linebacker on a full-time basis this season.

Lee suffered a torn ACL last year in OTAs, an injury that led to McClain coming out of retirement and to the Cowboys in the first place. And when he was healthy, McClain was as good as anyone could have hoped. He finished with 81 tackles, a sack and two interceptions.

After the season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stated that the team was considering moving Lee to the weak side when he returned, that ideally the 2015 Cowboys defense would feature a healthy McClain in the middle and Lee on the weak side. They’ve followed through with that plan in offseason workouts and they’re not likely to toss it now.

Instead, the more likely response will involve the team looking to veteran Jasper Brinkley and second-year linebacker Anthony Hitchens, who filled in for McClain down the stretch and in the playoffs last year when McClain was dealing with injuries.