Report: Major Movement in New McKinney Contract

Details on Benardrick McKinney's restructured contract with the Miami Dolphins surfaced Wednesday morning, and they include two significant factors.

The one-time Pro Bowl linebacker, acquired in a trade with the Houston Texans this offseason, took a significant pay cut and also saw the remaining length of his contract chopped from three years to one year, according to ESPN reporter Field Yates.

Dolphins LB Benardrick McKinney restructured his contract. Previously he had 3 years left on his deal worth up to $27.5M, including a $7.75M salary in 2021.

McKinney will now earn a $3M salary in 2021, plus $200K in playtime incentives. He’ll now be a free agent in 2022.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 28, 2021

Per Yates' report, McKinney saw his 2021 salary go from $7.75 million to $3 million and he now will become an unrestricted free agent after this season. The move created $4 million of cap for the Dolphins this season.

McKinney, who came to Miami along with a 2021 seventh-round pick in exchange for edge defender Shaq Lawson and a sixth-round pick, is highly likely to become the latest veteran to be one-and-done with the Dolphins because he's likely to want to look elsewhere after being forced to accept a pay cut.

McKinney signed a five-year, $50 million extension with Houston in 2018 months before earning his one Pro Bowl invitation, but the $21 million in guarantees he received were paid out from 2018-20, according to spotrac.com. That means the Dolphins could have cut him without incurring a cap hit.

Wide receiver Albert Wilson also took a pay cut to remain with the Dolphins last offseason, going from more than $9 million to $3.5 million, and it's under that contract that he'll be playing in 2021 after opting out last season.