Friday's NFL moves: Raiders waive Rolando McClain; Jags add WR

Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

Rolando McClain's tumultuous, disappointing stint with the Oakland Raiders is officially over.

The team informed the No. 8 pick of the 2010 draft that he'll be waived Friday, a little more than four months after he was suspended for arguing with head coach Dennis Allen. McClain would clear waivers Monday if no team claims him.

"I'd like to thank the Raiders for giving me an opportunity to play in the NFL," McClain said in a statement released by his agency. "I'm disappointed that it hasn't worked out better, but I'm very excited and thankful.

"I will miss my teammates and wish them and the Raiders organization good luck going forward."

McClain showed promise of reaching his potential during only one of his seasons in Oakland — 2011, when he was credited with 99 tackles, five sacks and 14 passes defended.

Trouble is, he was arrested that December on charges that he fired a gun during an altercation in Alabama. He was eventually convicted of third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm in city limits last May, though Morgan County (Ala.) Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson dismissed the charges after McClain's accuser told prosecutors he no longer wanted to pursue case.

This January, McClain was arrested once again for writing an obscenity on a traffic ticket.

It was only a matter of time before the Raiders cut McClain, who was due $6.7 million in compensation this season.

With the talent that got him drafted so highly, McClain will likely draw some interest. But with his off-field issues, he'll find his new employer will be offering much less money than the Raiders had put in his contract and very little patience for off-field transgressions.

He now joins a long line of players who have been jettisoned by Oakland in the past month: Carson Palmer, Tommy Kelly, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Michael Huff and Dave Tollefson. Several free agents have also left, a group that includes Richard Seymour, Desmond Bryant, Philip Wheeler, Brandon Myers and Shane Lechler.

Jags add to wideout corps

The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to terms with former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, the team announced.

Massaquoi, who also visited the Houston Texans, is a former second-round pick whose production was decent in Cleveland during his first three seasons there (especially considering the Browns' relatively poor quarterback play). He averaged 34 catches and 497 yards over those three years.

Last year, Massaquoi was limited to nine games because of a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve in December.

Massaquoi now joins Jacksonville, which might have a nice group of receivers with Justin Blackmon, Cecil Shorts III and Jordan Shipley, as well as tight end Marcedes Lewis. If quarterback Blaine Gabbert doesn't take a big step forward in 2013, it likely won't be due to a lack of targets.

Lions move quickly to find new kicker

A day after Jason Hanson retired, the Detroit Lions found his replacement.

David Akers agreed to terms with the Lions today to replace Hanson, who announced he was stepping away from the game Thursday after 21 seasons.

Akers, 38, is coming off a down year in which he missed 13 of 42 field-goal attempts, but he's a six-time Pro Bowler who struggled through a hip injury most of the season.

When healthy at the beginning of last year, he tied an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal in a season-opening win over the Green Bay Packers.

He visited the Lions on Tuesday.

Hanson, 42, said earlier this off-season he wanted to return for at least one more year, but the unrestricted free agent couldn't come to a contract agreement with the Lions before announcing his retirement. He had been slow to recover from a heel injury he suffered last season.

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Contributing: The Detroit Free Press, The Associated Press