The complete roster overhaul in Miami continues. After trading Kenny Stills, Laremy Tunsil, and Minkah Fitzpatrick last year, Miami has opted to once again ship off one of the key members of their roster. On Saturday morning, the Dolphins sent Raekwon McMillan and a 2021 fifth-round pick to the Raiders for a 2021 fourth-round pick. In 29 career games, McMillan has 177 tackles, eight tackles, for loss, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery since being a second-round draft choice in 2017.
McMillan was firmly on the roster bubble heading into this season in the final year of his contract. With the additions of Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts, and Kamu Grugier-Hill, he was the odd man out and didn’t fit the system that Brian Flores has implemented. Miami’s linebacking core already took a blow this week with Vince Biegel going to injured reserve after breaking out last year. The trade of McMillan opens the door for Grugier-Hill, Roberts, Van Noy, and Sam Equavoen to get more playing time for the defense. Miami took the opportunity to get a higher day-three draft pick for a player they didn’t have plans for.
For the Raiders meanwhile, this is yet another move in rebranding their linebacker spot. They added Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkowski, and Kyle Emanuel in free agency and selected Clemson’s, Tanner Muse in the third round of April’s draft. In Paul Guenther’s 4-3 scheme, Nicholas Murrow was slated to be the third linebacker in base packages and did a solid job last year collecting 73 tackles, four pass deflections, two tackles for loss, and an interception. McMillan will likely fight with Murrow for the third spot in base packages. He was ranked as the 32nd-best run-defending linebacker in the league last year and offers a different skill-set to those of Kwiatkowski and Littleton.
This is a good deal for both sides. The Dolphins shipped off a player they weren’t likely to keep around for a higher day three draft pick. For the Raiders, they add a potential starting chip on their defense only to drop down about 30 draft picks. McMillan is only 24 years old so if he shows the coaching staff something this year, they could reward him with a new contract.
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