DAVIE, Fla. – The Dolphins and Texans agreed to a full linebacker exchange, with Miami sending Shaq Lawson to Houston and receiving Benardrick McKinney in return, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The teams are also exchanging final choices in the business. Miami is sending a sixth round choice to 2021 and getting a seventh round choice back to 2021, sources told ESPN.
The deal cannot be made official until the start of the league year, which starts on Wednesday at 4 pm ET.
The Dolphins have long admired McKinney, who must slip in as an initial internal linebacker alongside Jerome Baker and fill a gap left by the release of Kyle Van Noy and the pending free agency matches of Kamu Grugier-Hill and Elandon Roberts. Texans get an edge rusher upgrade by purchasing Lawson, who had four sacks last season while playing as an outside linebacker and is a strong and reliable defender.
The move comes after Houston hired linebacker Christian Kirksey for a one-year contract worth up to $ 4.5 million. McKinney, who signed a $ 50 million five-year contract in 2018, had no guaranteed money left over in the final three years of his contract. He owes $ 7.2 million in 2021.
McKinney, a Pro Bowler in 2018, played only four games in 2020 before undergoing shoulder surgery.
In 2020, Houston signed a $ 58 million four-year contract with linebacker Zach Cunningham. Before the Texans traded with McKinney, the pair was set to match more than 10.5% of the Texans’ total cap in 2021.
Lawson signed a three-year, $ 30 million contract with Miami last March, and he is now the second significant free agent in several years that the Dolphins split after a season, joining Van Noy. Lawson, who is expected to earn $ 8.5 million in 2021, did not actually provide the pass rush production the team had hoped for in his year in Miami.
The Dolphins fill their hole in the internal linebacker while creating a larger hole in the edge rusher, where only Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel remain as the main contributors. This could signal Miami’s expectation to be active in that position at the free agency.
ESPN’s Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.