Benardrick McKinney has agreed to revise his existing contract, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The veteran linebacker is now on course for free agency in the spring of 2022, rather than 2024. He was originally set to make $27.5MM over the next three years, including a $7.75M salary in 2021. Now, he’ll make $3MM this year plus $200K in playtime incentives. 
The Dolphins acquired McKinney from the Texans earlier this year in exchange for edge rusher Shaq Lawson. In cap terms, the deal was pretty much a wash. But, from a football perspective, the Dolphins preferred McKinney’s run-stuffing ability.
When McKinney was at his best, he formed one of the league’s best run-stuffing tandems with Zach Cunningham. Now, McKinney is set to start alongside Jerome Baker, and the Miami duo could be even better, if McKinney can match Baker’s strides in pass coverage.
McKinney earned Pro Bowl nod in 2018 and racked up 100+ tackles again in 2019. Last year, however, a shoulder injury limited him to just four games.
Why am I not shocked that none of the people complaining about Xavien Howard wanting to change his deal with the Dolphins have bothered to comment here about the Dolphins forcing another player to change his deal?
Bunch of whining hypocrites, if you ask me.
Zach, I wish you had included some of McKinney’s comments after the restructuring of his contract was announced. The guy sounds like he is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome (or like a typical wage slave in 21st Century America). From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
“I’m just happy to be able to continue playing the game I love,” said McKinney on Wednesday. “I’m just focusing on football. … I’m not trying to have any distractions thinking about that [pay cut]. I’m just going to do what I do best. Whatever happens, happens.”
From the Palm Beach Post:
“Me personally, like I keep saying, man, I’m just so happy to be able to play the game I love,” McKinney said following his first practice with the Dolphins. “Whatever happened, my agent did a great job.” McKinney wouldn’t say if the Dolphins told him they intended to alter his contract before the trade went down.
In essence, McKinney is saying that he’s just going to have to live with the Dolphins bending him over a barrel and…well, you can figure out the rest.
Meanwhile, most of the schmucks commenting here think Xavien Howard is a villain and can’t be bothered with this story.