DAVIE, Florida – The Dolphins and Texans have agreed a change of starting defenders, with Miami sending Shaq Lawson to Houston and receiving Benardrick McKinney in return, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Teams also change the final round options of the deal. Miami is sending a selection for the sixth round of 2021 and is receiving a selection for the seventh round of 2021, sources told ESPN.
Trade cannot be made official until the start of the league year, which begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
The Dolphins have long admired McKinney, who should slip as Jerome Baker’s forward defender and fill a gap left by the release of Kyle Van Noy and the pending departures of Kamu Grugier-Hill and Elandon Roberts. The Texans get an improvement on the edge rusher by acquiring Lawson, who had four sacks last season while playing offline and is a tough, reliable career defender.
The move comes after Houston signed defender Christian Kirksey for a one-year deal worth up to $ 4.5 million. McKinney, who signed a five-year, $ 50 million contract in 2018, had no guaranteed money in the last three years of his contract. It must pay $ 7.2 million in 2021.
McKinney, Pro Bowler in 2018, played in just four games in 2020 before being operated on from the shoulder.
In 2020, Houston signed winger Zach Cunningham for a four-year, $ 58 million contract. Before the Texans changed McKinney, the pair would combine by more than 10.5% of the total Texan limit in 2021.
Lawson signed a three-year, $ 30 million contract with Miami last March and is now the second major multi-year free agent to sign the Dolphins after a season, joining Van Noy. Lawson, who will earn $ 8.5 million in 2021, did not quite deliver the fast production the team expected during its year in Miami.
The Dolphins fill their hole to the side, creating a larger hole at the end of the runner, where only Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel remain the main collaborators. This could signal Miami’s expectation of being active in this position in free agency.
ESPN’s Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.