McKinney was traded from Houston to Miami in the offseason but was unable to make the Dolphins' roster. He started 77 games for the Texans from 2015-2020 but was limited to just four games because of a shoulder injury in his final campaign with the team. Rapsheet noted that he'll be signing with the practice squad but the plan is for him to get promoted to the active roster once he is up to speed. McKinney offers New York some depth at interior linebacker, where the Giants previously lost Blake Martinez to a torn ACL.

Acquired from the Texans in March, McKinney was running as a starter the first few weeks of camp before fading. His releases comes even after his contract was restructured in extremely team-friendly terms. Headed into his age-29 campaign, McKinney was limited to four games by a shoulder injury last season. The Dolphins will move forward with Jerome Baker and Elandon Roberts at inside 'backer. McKinney's experience will probably make him a regular on the workout circuit this season. 

The teams are also swapping late-round picks. McKinney is coming off shoulder surgery and has been limited to 18 games the last two seasons, but this isn't much of a salary dump for Houston, with McKinney due $28.5 million over the next three seasons and Lawson owed $20.2 million through 2022. Lawson has never been a full-time starter and took a step back with four sacks last year, though he's two years younger than McKinney and had 18 QB hits for the second straight season. Lawson should see more early down snaps with Houston, while McKinney will step in as the starting inside linebacker next to Jerome Baker in Miami.

McKinney needs season-ending surgery on the shoulder injury that kept him out last week. It's bad news for a struggling Texans defense that's allowing the second most rushing yards in the league. McKinney had 37 tackles and a TFL in four games before going down. The Texans will start Tyrell Adams in place of McKinney.