6:10pm: The Dolphins will receive a conditional seventh-round pick, tweets Jackson.
5:11pm: The Saints have struck a deal to acquire linebacker Chris McCain from the Dolphins, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter linknk) the first to report that a trade was in the works.
McCain, 24, is entering his third season in the NFL, but hasn’t contributed much during his first two years in the league. He’s appeared in 19 games, but he’s been more of a special teams player than a defensive stalwart. McCain picked up a sack and a forced fumble in 2015, but only played on 113 total snaps (43 on defense), and wasn’t ticketed for a larger role this year.
In New Orleans, special teams will likely be the area of focus for McCain once again. The Saints have a decent crop of linebackers, with Stephone Anthony, James Laurinaitis, and Dannell Ellerbe making up the starting three, and McCain is unlikely to push free agent addition Craig Robertson for playing time. Given that he was an undrafted free agent, McCain is entering the final year of hi deal, but will only reach restricted free agency after 2016.
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