Eye-Opening Move: Dolphins Cutting McKinney

The Miami Dolphins' swap of veteran linebackers with the Houston Texans back in March ended up being inconsequential for either team.

It became official Monday night with news that the Dolphins were releasing one-time Pro Bowl linebacker Benardrick McKinney, one day after the Texans traded former Dolphins linebacker Shaq Lawson to the New York Jets.

The #Dolphins are releasing LB Benardrick McKinney, source said. After arriving in a trade from the #Texans, McKinney is now on the move again.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2021

On the surface, it's a pretty eye-opening transaction for the Dolphins considering McKinney is a six-year veteran with 77 NFL starts and he widely was expected to be a starter after his arrival from Houston.

But maybe the clues were there all along that McKinney might be on the way out.

Remember that he came to the Dolphins with three years left on the five-year contract extension he signed with Houston in 2018, though he had no guaranteed money remaining.

That led to the Dolphins getting McKinney to restructure his contract in late July, turning it into a one-year deal worth $3 million after he was scheduled to make $7.75 million in 2021. The Dolphins now will have to eat only $750,000 of dead space after cutting McKinney, according to spotrac.com.

And then there was last week at practice when it was Elandon Roberts who got the first-team snaps at inside linebacker alongside Jerome Baker and not McKinney.

McKinney also has been viewed as a good run defender with blitzing ability but somewhat of a liability in pass coverage.

The full trade with Houston in March involved the Dolphins getting McKinney and a seventh-round pick for Lawson and a sixth-round selection.

More than anything, it turns out, maybe this deal was about getting rid of Lawson's contract, one year after the Dolphins signed him to a three-year, $30 million deal as a free agent.

Lawson is one of the seven unrestricted free agents the Dolphins signed in 2020 who's no longer on the team, one of three who had signed a contract of three years or longer — the other two were linebacker Kyle Van Noy and guard Ereck Flowers.

Other 2020 UFAs no longer on the roster are S Kavon Frazier, LB Kamu Grugier-Hill, RB Jordan Howard and C Ted Karras.

The four still on the roster and headed for a second season with the Dolphins are safety Clayton Fejedelem, cornerback Byron Jones, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and Roberts.