Miami Dolphins trade Raekwon McMillan to the Las Vegas Raiders
By James Reeve
The Miami Dolphins continue to make changes to their roster ahead of the 2020 season, trading linebacker Raekwon McMillan to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Originally reported by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed that the Miami Dolphins have traded Raekwon McMillan to the AFC West team.
In return for McMillan, who has spent the past three seasons with the Dolphins, Miami received the Raiders’ 2021 fourth-round pick for McMillan and will also send a 5th round pick in 2021 to the Raiders.
McMillan was a second-round (54th overall) selection of the Dolphins in 2017, but he didn’t make his competitive debut for the team until the 2018 season after he suffered a season-ending ACL injury in a pre-season game prior to his rookie campaign.
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When McMillan took to the field in 2018, he stepped up in a significant way, establishing himself as a starter in the Dolphins’ linebacker group, registering 105 (69 solo, 36 assisted) tackles with five for a loss.
He also added a pass defense, two forced fumbles and a solitary fumble recovery while starting all 16 games at the middle linebacker position.
The 2019 season was less impactful for the Midway, Georgia native, who missed the final couple of games with a hamstring injury, ending the campaign in the injured reserve list.
In his 12 starts, 13 games total, McMillan registered 72 total tackles (35 solo), with three for a loss and two QB hits. Since then, there had been very little to suggest that the former Ohio State Buckeye was no longer in head coach Brian Flores’ plans, though the arrival of Elandon Roberts, who Flores is familiar with from his time with the New England Patriots, seems to have pushed the 24-year-old further down the depth chart.
McMillan was entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2020, holding a cap hit of $1,494,671, and it appears that the Dolphins were likely leaning away from offering him an extension once all was said and done, preferring to add more picks to the 2021 Draft instead of letting him walk as an unrestricted free agent.
While it’s disappointing to see the team lose a former second-round pick, they have shown an ability to find value in the later rounds with Solomon Kindley and Jason Stowbridge being chosen in the fourth and fifth round respectively this year, with both players looking likely to make the final roster.
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With the first week of the regular-season fast approaching, the Miami Dolphins need to start cutting their roster down to the final 53 they are allowed to carry during the season and more deals such as this one could be on the horizon.