Tag: Benardrick McKinney

Darius Slayton, Daniel Jones were highest-graded Giants in Week 7

Darius Slayton, Daniel Jones and Azeez Ojulari were the highest-graded New York Giants in a Week 7 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

The New York Giants stormed back after a slow start on Sunday and eventually cruised to a 25-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers. It was their first win at MetLife Stadium this year and the first in front of fans in nearly two years.

It’s also a reprieve for the organization. Had they lost again and fallen to 1-6 on the season, heads would have rolled. And while 2-5 isn’t much better, 2-2 over their previous four games is an easier pill to swallow.

Leading the charge in Week 7 was wide receiver Darius Slayton, who earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 84.8 in his return from injury. Just behind him was quarterback Daniel Jones, who earned the team’s second-highest grade at 80.4.

Other notable offensive grades include wide receiver Dante Pettis (75.1), left tackle Matt Peart (61.0) and running back Devontae Booker (55.6).

The lowest-graded Giants on offense was wide receiver David Sills (44.3).

Defensively, it should come as little surprise that rookie edge rusher Azeez Ojulari led the way with an 80.3 (min. 20 snaps). Linebacker Benardrick McKinney earned a 90.6 on 11 snaps.

Elsewhere on defense, notable grades include cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (77.9), defensive end Leonard Williams (72.4) and cornerback James Bradberry (70.8).

The lowest-graded Giants on defense were linebacker Reggie Ragland (50.5) and cornerback Darnay Holmes (43.9).

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Giants place Andrew Thomas, C.J. Board on injured reserve

The New York Giants have placed OT Andrew Thomas and WR C.J. Board on injured reserve and made a flurry of other roster moves.

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The New York Giants will be without starting left tackle Andrew Thomas for at least three weeks after he was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday.

Thomas, who had already been dealing with a foot injury, got rolled up on during Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He left the game and was later diagnosed with an ankle injury on the opposite leg of his foot injury.

In addition to Thomas landing on IR, the Giants also placed starting kick returner C.J. Board on injured reserve after he suffered a fracture forearm in the same game.

Thomas and Board become the latest in a long, long line of Giants landing on IR or missing significant time due to injury.

Replacing Thomas and Board on the 53-man roster are wide receiver Dante Pettis and offensive lineman Korey Cunningham, each of whom were signed off the practice squad.

Both Pettis and Cunningham had been elevated last week and made their on-field regular season debut.

Meanwhile, the Giants terminated the practice squad contracts of tight end Jake Hausmann and guard Cole Banwart.

With several spots open on the practice squad as a result of the roster shuffle, the Giants also officially signed linebacker Benardrick McKinney, wide receiver Travis Toivonen and offensive tackle Derrick Kelly to the reserve unit.

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Giants protect Benardrick McKinney, David Sills and two others

The New York Giants have protected LB Benardrick McKinney, WR David Sills and two other practice squad players in Week 7.

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The New York Giants announced their practice squad protections ahead of a Week 7 game with the Carolina Panthers and newly signed linebacker Benardrick McKinney was among the four.

The 28-year-old McKinney, who the Giants added earlier this week, was originally a second-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2015. After six years with the team, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in a swap that included a 2021 seventh-round pick in exchange for defensive end Shaq Lawson and a 2021 sixth-round pick.

Miami eventually released McKinney on August 31 as a part of final cuts.

In addition to McKinney, the Giants also protected tight end Chris Myarick, defensive tackle David Moa and wide receiver David Sills.

Myarick and Sills are first-time protections, while Moa has been protected all seven weeks this season.

It’s a near certainty that both McKinney and Sills are elevated for Sunday’s game.

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Report: Giants are signing LB Benardrick McKinney to practice squad

The New York Giants are expected to sign inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney to their practice squad.

In need of additional inside linebackers, the New York Giants are expected to sign Benardrick McKinney to their practice squad once he passes a physical.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report the pending transaction.

With defensive captain Blake Martinez (knee) out for the season and Tae Crowder not playing particularly well at the position, the Giants certainly need some reinforcements.

Although McKinney will initially land on the practice squad, it’s unlikely he’ll remain there for any length a time.

The 28-year-old McKinney was originally a second-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2015. After six years with the team, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in a swap that included a 2021 seventh-round pick in exchange for defensive end Shaq Lawson and a 2021 sixth-round pick.

Miami eventually released McKinney on August 31 as a part of final cuts.

In 80 career games (77 starts), the 6-foot-4, 257-pound McKinney has recorded 530 tackles (314 solo, 35 for a loss), 30 QB hits, 11.5 sacks, one interception, 14 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

McKinney was named Second Team All-Pro in 2016 and to the Pro Bowl in 2018.

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Is Washington interested in veteran linebacker Benardrick McKinney?

Benardrick McKinney would be a solid addition to Washington’s linebacking group.

The Washington Football Team trimmed its roster to 53 players on Tuesday. One of the biggest questions surrounding the initial 53-man roster was why Washington kept just four linebackers?

Washington coach Ron Rivera met with the media after the team announced the 53-man roster, and he was asked about keeping four linebackers. His response likely means Washington will continue to monitor the linebacker either through free agency or trade.

Late on Tuesday, Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network reported that Washington was one of two teams, along with the New York Jets, interested in veteran linebacker Benardrick McKinney.

McKinney was a surprise release by the Miami Dolphins this week. A former second-round pick of the Houston Texans, McKinney was named second-team All-Pro in 2016 and made the Pro Bowl in 2018.

Houston traded McKinney to the Dolphins in March.

McKinney, 28, appeared in four games for the Texans in 2020 before missing the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

McKinney would be a welcome addition to Washington’s linebacking corps, which features three players in their third season or less. Jon Bostic is the only veteran linebacker on Washington’s current roster.

Texans won the Shaq Lawson and Benardrick McKinney trade with the Dolphins

The Houston Texans came out the victors in the Benardrick McKinney for Shaq Lawson trade with the Miami Dolphins.

The Houston Texans finally got one over on the Miami Dolphins since the Laremy Tunsil trade.

With the Texans trading defensive end Shaq Lawson to the New York Jets for a 2022 sixth-round pick and the Dolphins having released inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney, it is fair to say that Houston came out on the winning side of the exchange.

For the Texans, they were able to offload McKinney’s five-year, $50 million contract that he signed in the advent to training camp in 2018. McKinney lived up to the contract that season with a Pro Bowl selection, but missed 14 games over the next two seasons. With the emergence of Zach Cunningham, and reserve linebacker Tyrell Adams collecting over 100 tackles in the absence of McKinney in 2020, it was clear to general manager Nick Caserio’s regime that they needed to make a change. They would probably need to make one anyway given Houston was moving away from a 3-4 to a Tampa 2.

Lawson had been displaced since the Bills allowed his contract to expire at the end of the 2019 season. The former 2016 first-round pick from Clemson notched 4.0 sacks for Miami in 2020, but it was a decrease from the 6.5 sacks he generated in his final year with the Bills. Given that Houston played a similar scheme to Leslie Frazier’s defense, the expectation was Lawson would claim one of the defensive end spots.

Neither McKinney nor Lawson lived up to the expectations each team had for them in the offseason. The Dolphins released McKinney as they trim their roster to 53 players by 3:00 p.m. Central Time on Aug. 31.

For the Texans, they were able to at least get something out of Lawson, even if he didn’t claim one of the starting jobs. Caserio traded the 27-year-old to the New York Jets for a 2022 sixth-round pick. Houston may never use the sixth-round pick on its own, but they can package it to acquire a veteran or move up in the 2022 NFL draft.

Houston got something when their player didn’t work out. Miami got nothing. That’s a win.

Dolphins surprise with decision to cut LB Benardrick McKinney

Dolphins surprise with decision to cut LB Benardrick McKinney

The Miami Dolphins’ process of cutting down their roster to 53 players is underway and our first big surprise of the process has been made known. Miami has mostly cut players who have been lingering on the fringes of the roster — players who played deep into the team’s third and final preseason game this past weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals.

There are no surprises when players like Nate Holley get cut. But the latest? This is a shocker.

The Miami Dolphins, according to reports, are cutting veteran LB Benardrick McKinney as a part of their trimming of the roster; just a few short months after McKinney was brought to Miami in a trade that featured the team sending OLB/DE Shaq Lawson to the Texans.

The decision to cut McKinney leaves the Dolphins with less competition in the linebacker room and presumably opens a spot for veteran LB Elandon Roberts to resume his role as a starting inside linebacker opposite of Jerome Baker on the second level of the Dolphins defense. Perhaps thats all the team ever viewed McKinney as — insurance for a player in Roberts who stepped up in run support in a big way down the stretch in 2020 before injuring his knee against the Las Vegas Raiders.

McKinney was already subjected to a contract restructure this offseason, cutting two years off of his preexisting contract with the Texans and halving his salary for the 2021 campaign. And now he’s off the team all together before taking a regular season snap with the Dolphins.

If there’s more at play here, we’ll likely find out soon. The Dolphins must be at 53 players by tomorrow afternoon at 4PM EST.

Benardrick McKinney shines as Dolphins embrace the trenches at camp

Benardrick McKinney shines as Dolphins embrace the trenches at camp

One of the biggest takeaways of the first day of Miami Dolphins padded practice for this 2021 season? The team has some absolute maulers up front in their base defense. The Dolphins weren’t necessarily stout with consistency in 2020 stopping the run; they needed the emergence of players like Elandon Roberts and Raekwon Davis to find some level of stopping power up front and help the team with a playoff push that ultimately fell just short of the ultimate goal of a postseason berth.

But the Dolphins did well to attack their strengths and weaknesses alike this offseason, including a concentrated effort to stack up on bodies to help the run defense in 2021. John Jenkins’ addition on the line will help. So, too, will the presence of hybrid types like Vince Biegel (injury) and Brennan Scarlett (free agency).

But, for at least the first day of pads, no one shined quite like Benardrick McKinney. The former standout with the Houston Texans is looking to bounce back after seeing his career derailed by injury — and the Dolphins appear to be cooking up a perfect recipe to do exactly that. McKinney was a monster during Tuesday’s practice; knifing into the front on numerous occasions and disrupting gaps. Had the action allowed for taking ball carriers to the ground, more than one play would have seen McKinney driving runners to the turf.

Miami, generally speaking, took the air out of the ball at practice today. With the pads on, it was a great time to focus on the trenches and the intensity of full contact as a part of the team’s evaluation process. There’s been plenty of high-flying action in 7 on 7s to this point in training camp but today was dedicated, unofficially, to winning in the trenches.

McKinney and the rest of the front seven won the day.

It’s a promising showcase for a player who suddenly finds himself in a contract year in 2021 after a surprising restructure that cut several years off of his current deal. And it’s also an exciting peek at what could be for a Dolphins defense that was good in a number of ways last season but certainly left room for improvement. Miami’s got the horses up front to be an improved unit against the run — and no one player made a better statement about making an impact between the tackles better than McKinney.

Dolphins quietly reveal contract restructure to LB Benardrick McKinney

Dolphins quietly reveal contract restructure to LB Benardrick McKinney

The Miami Dolphins had a busy day on Friday — one of their last “business days” before the start of 2021 training camp. The Dolphins signed two free agents, adding LB Shaquem Griffin and CB CreVon LeBlanc. Those roster additions were met with additional cuts — Miami parted ways with LS Rex Sunahara and DL Nick Coe. And on top of that, Miami finalized one of their lingering rookie contracts; inking 2nd-round safety Jevon Holland to his rookie deal to ensure he was good to go for training camp.

But some Dolphins fans noticed on Friday night that there was an extra move made by Miami — one that flew nearly completely under the radar. It wasn’t on the league’s transactions summary. It wasn’t formerly reported anywhere of significance initially, either. But when you visit the Dolphins’ team site and review their team transactions, sure enough, the move is listed.

“LB Benardrick McKinney restructured his contract.”

Those sneaky Dolphins. The team buried it in their transactions log, almost as if it were a video game easter egg — only for the most thorough to stumble upon.

McKinney, of course, was added to the Dolphins’ roster this offseason as a part of a swap for DE Shaq Lawson. He came to Miami in the middle of a 5-year, $50M contract extension with the Texans; a deal that has three years remaining and next to zero contract guarantees for Miami to absorb over those years. And with a scheduled base salary of $7M this season (plus a small roster bonus), McKinney’s roster restructure almost assuredly transitions some of his base salary into a signing bonus.

Miami can take on the prorated guarantees of such a move because McKinney is new to the system, previously had none and appears to be a part of the team’s plan for the next several seasons without being a risk of adding “dead cap” to Miami’s books. But the details will be telling.

If Miami converted the maximum amount of 2021 base salary (right around $6M of his scheduled $7M in pay), the team could spread that $6M out over the next three seasons and potentially save around $4M in salary cap for the 2021 season. That amount of cap can go a long way, whether it be for appeasing a disgruntled star cornerback, adding another key player at a position of need or any other number of moves.

Time will tell what details come from McKinney’s restructure. But what we currently know is Miami has more wiggle room against the cap now than it did before.

LB Benardrick McKinney poised for versatile role with Dolphins defense

LB Benardrick McKinney poised for versatile role with Dolphins defense

After the departure of linebacker Kyle Van Noy earlier this offseason, many expected the Miami Dolphins to get aligned for an addition for a linebacker in the early portions of the 2021 NFL Draft. And while perhaps No. 18 overall pick Jaelan Phillips can pick up some of Van Noy’s reps on the line of scrimmage in 2021, the collective group remains the same on the heels of the 2021 draft as what it was at this time last week — there were no true linebackers added into the fray.

One player who is likely to see an expanded role in 2021 as a result is new Miami Dolphin Benardrick McKinney. McKinney was acquired from the Houston Texans via trade earlier this offseason and as Miami’s vision for their 2021 football team comes into focus, one thing that is apparent is that McKinney will be taking on a number of different roles.

Brian Flores, during his Saturday post-draft press conference, confirmed as much when asked about his vision for the veteran linebacker.

“I’ve watched (McKinney) and scouted him for a long time. He’s big, fast, physical, really good in the run game. I think he’s a good pass rusher. Versatile on the ball, off the ball and smart. And my conversations with him already have been about how much do we think he can do, how much do we think – I think he can handle a lot, so I think we’ll see him in a lot of different roles on the line of scrimmage, off the line of scrimmage, on the edge, blitzing,” said Flores.

“And hopefully we get him in here and get him going with our terminology, our verbiage, get him in with his teammates. It’s one thing for one person to do it, but he’s obviously going to be working with several other teammates and we’ve just got to get him going along with the rest of the group.”

Van Noy spent the majority of his time during his one season in Miami as a linebacker rolled up onto the line of scrimmage — and while McKinney is much more of a stack linebacker who can play on the inside, Flores’ willingness to allude to McKinney rushing the passer on the edge seems to indicate that some the reps lost with Van Noy’s release can be accounted for by phasing in their new man in the middle.

If this feels like a lot of pieces to account for in Miami’s defense, that’s because it is. And Brian Flores likely wouldn’t have it any other way.