INDIANAPOLIS – The Baltimore Ravens have issued a second-round restricted tender to starting inside linebacker Jameel McClain, according to NFL Players Association documents.
Last year, the second-round tender was worth $1.759 million.
It’s a strong statement about how the Ravens feel about the former undrafted free agent from Syracuse.
McClain finished third on the team with 91 tackles last season, recording one sack and one forced fumble.
The 6-foot-1, 250-pounder started 15 games last season.
In an AFC wild-card playoff win over the Kansas City Chiefs, McClain led the Ravens with six tackles. That included four solo stops.
McClain is a big hitter, and was fined $40,000 by the NFL for his concussion-causing hit on Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller.
The letter that McClain received from the league office said he was fined for unnecessary roughness for hitting a defenseless receiver.
"It’s a man trying to make a play," McClain said at the time. "I was in the strike zone. I was playing the way I was taught to play."
