TRADE: Texans Trading LB Benardrick McKinney To Dolphins For OLB Shaq Lawson

According to Adam Schefter, the Texans are trading LB Benardrick McKinney to the Dolphins in exchange for OLB Shaq Lawson. 

Schefter adds there’s also a late-round pick swap included in the deal. ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe reports the Dolphins will send their 2021 sixth-round pick and receive the Texans’ 2021 seventh-rounder. 

Houston was rumored to be considering a release of McKinney, so swapping him to Miami for an edge rusher is a decent outcome all things considered. 

For Miami, they fill a need at linebacker while saving a little bit of cap space from what Lawson was projected to make. 

McKinney, 28, is a former second-round pick of the Texans back in 2015. He was in the final year of his four-year, $5.3 million contract when he agreed to a five-year, $50 million extension with $21 million guaranteed with Houston back in 2018. 

McKinney stands to make base salaries of $7 million and $8.75 million over the next two years of the agreement.

In 2020, McKinney appeared in four games for the Texans and recorded 37 tackles, no sacks and a pass defense.

Lawson, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Bills back in 2016. He played out his four-year, $10.27 million rookie contract that included $9.82 million guaranteed and made a base salary of $1.85 million in the final year of the agreement.

The Dolphins signed Lawson to a three-year, $30 million deal in free agency in 2020. He’s set to make base salaries of $7.9 million and $8.9 million in the final two years of the deal.

In 2020, Lawson appeared in 14 games for the Dolphins and recorded 33 tackles, four sacks, one forced fumble and one recovery returned for a touchdown and one pass defense. Pro Football Focus rated Lawson as the No. 28 edge defender out of 109 qualifying players.