Dolphins trade linebacker Raekwon McMillan to the Las Vegas Raiders,
The Dolphins, eager to give roles to two linebackers signed during the offseason, on Saturday traded Raekwon McMillan, according to a source, sending away the player who was Miami’s best defender last season in the opinion of metrics website Pro Football Focus.
The Dolphins are receiving the Raiders’ fourth-round pick in 2021 but are giving the Raiders their fifth-round pick in 2021. McMillan is earning $1.1 million in the final year of his contract.
The trade met the wishes of both parties. The Dolphins had decided they preferred to play newcomers Elandon Roberts and Kamu Grugier-Hill. And McMillan had been frustrated with his lack of opportunity to compete for a starting job this summer, according to a source.
Dolphins coach Brian Flores cited “a lot of depth” at linebacker as one reason for making the trade, though the Dolphins ended up not getting much back.
“Raekwon is somebody I had a lot of respect for, talented player,” Flores said. “People are going to say what they want to say. He’s a good football player.
He’s going to have a long career. But there’s a lot of depth in that room. Like a lot of decisions we make, there are a lot of things that go into it that. … we’re not going to tell you. Every decision we make is in the best interests of the Miami Dolphins. I wish him all the best. He’s a good kid.”
McMillan, selected 54th overall in the 2017 draft, missed his rookie season with a knee injury sustained in preseason and ended his Dolphins career with 177 tackles, no sacks, no interceptions and two forced fumbles. He appeared in 29 games and started 28 of them.
But even though he was arguably Miami’s best run-stopping linebacker, this Dolphins coaching staff never grew comfortable with his ability in pass coverage, according to a source.
McMillan and general manager Chris Grier spoke last week, and Grier told him he was doing everything right and still competing for a role, according to a source close to Grier.
But McMillan never believed he was getting a legitimate opportunity to start alongside Kyle Van Noy and Jerome Baker. It was clear to him that Miami preferred Roberts, who was signed away from the Patriots this offseason, and Grugier-Hill, who started a combined 16 games for Philadelphia over the past two seasons.
Last season, PFF rated McMillan 33rd of 88 qualifying linebackers. Had 72 tackles in 13 games, including 12 starts.
He was 26th among all 121 NFL linebackers in run stop percentage, measuring tackles that constitute a bad play for the offense. These coaches put him in pass coverage much less than the previous staff did, and so the damage was limited to 13 catches in 15 targets for 190 yards (118.8 passer rating in coverage area).
Early last offseason, the Dolphins conveyed to McMillan that they might want to extend his contract, which expires after this season.
But Miami never followed up on that and ultimately decided it wanted to move on without him.
This marked the second consecutive offseason that a veteran linebacker wasn’t happy with his reduced role and was traded. The same happened last August with Kiko Alonso, who was dealt to the Saints for Vince Biegel.
The trade of McMillan leaves fifth-rounder Davon Godchaux and seventh-rounder Isaiah
Ford as the only remaining players on the team from the 2017 Dolphins draft.
First-rounder Charles Harris was a bust and traded this offseason to Atlanta for a seventhround pick. Third-rounder Cordrea Tankerley was released on Aug 4. And fifth-rounder Isaac Asiata was released last year and is now working in law en
forcement in Salt Lake City.
SCRIMMAGE STATS
Some unofficial stats from the scrimmage beyond the quarterbacks:
• Matt Breida had seven carries for 33 yards, Jordan Howard 9 for 12 and Myles Gaskin 4 for 10.
Patrick Laird, making his way back from a shoulder injury, did not carry the ball, nor did running back Salvon Ahmed, who was claimed off waivers from the 49ers on Thursday.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ran once for 8 yards.
• Final receiving numbers beyond Ford’s 5 for 72: receiver Malcolm Perry 2 for 62 (including a 56-yarder from Josh Rosen); receiver Preston Williams 3 for 24; tight end Mike Gesicki 3 for 15; receiver Ricardo Louis 3 for 21; receiver Chester Rogers 2 for 25; Gaskin 2 for 8; tight end Adam Shaheen 1 for 10; receiver Gary Jennings 1 for 13; Howard 1 for 3; and fullback Chandler Cox 1 for 9.
Receiver DeVante Parker did not participate in the scrimmage but does not have a serious injury, an associate said.