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.