Le’Ron McClain released by San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers fullback Le’Ron McClain.
The Baltimore Ravens cut ties with veteran fullback Vonta Leach recently in order to save a couple of million dollars, and they later used some of that money to give star tight end Dennis Pitta a five-year deal. Today, Leach’s predecessor in Baltimore Le’Ron McClain has been released by the San Diego Chargers in a cost-cutting move, as per the U-T San Diego’s Michael Gehlken.
McClain’s release will save the Chargers $2.5 million, and that’s a nice chunk of change for a fullback who was always expected to be released. His situation is similar to Leach’s, and the 29-year-old’s entire $2.5 million base salary was not guaranteed. It will be interesting to see what the Chargers do with this money, as they have several holes on defense, particularly at cornerback.
It’s striking to see just how little McClain actually played last season, and there simply wasn’t any reason for the Chargers to spend that much money on a fullback when they don’t need a great lead-blocker like McClain in their offense. This release wasn’t performance-based, and a team that feels the need to sign a top lead-blocker should take a long look at McClain, who is probably an even better option than Leach. He won’t make $2.5 million, though, as Leach is on the market to compete with him and fullbacks just aren’t worth that much, no matter how good they are.