The Raiders are still on the hunt for linebackers, as evidenced by a pending trade for Miami's Raekwon McMillan.
The Raiders continued their overhaul at linebacker Saturday, completing a trade with the Miami Dolphins for Raekwon McMillan.
McMillan, who spent the last three games of the 2019 season with a hamstring injury and was placed on injured reserve, will be on the field once he passes a physical and COVID-19 protocol.
After starting 16 games in 2018 and 12 more last season, McMillan was acquired at little cost. The Raiders simply swapped their 2021 fourth-round draft pick in exchange for McMillan and Miami’s fifth-round choice.
The Raiders corps of linebackers is hardly recognizable from the unit that finished the 2019 season. Nicholas Morrow, who was retained as a restricted free agent, is the only player who saw considerable time at the position last season still on the roster.
During free agency, the Raiders added projected starters Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski. Both are expected to play nearly every down, with Kwiatkoski as the defensive signal caller Littleton, Kwiatkoski and Tanner Muse, a third-round pick and converted safety out of Clemson, are the only sure things for the 53-man roster that will be finalized Sept. 5.
Last week, the Raiders brought in Kyle Emanuel, who last played for the Chargers in 2018. That came after they waived Bryce Hager, who was signed Aug. 7. Marquel Lee, a draft pick from the Reggie McKenzie era, was waived/injured five days after the Raiders began training camp.
Other linebackers on the roster include Justin Phillips, a practice squad player last season who was promoted and played in four games, and Sharif Finch, a former undrafted free agent out of Temple who can also play defensive end. Finch played for the Tennessee Titans in 2018-19 and was signed Aug. 25.
The Dolphins selected McMillan in the second round of the 2017 draft, No. 54 overall, out of Ohio State. He sustained a torn ACL in an exhibition game and missed the season.
McMillan was a five-star recruit out of high school in Georgia, where he was named winner of the Butkus Award as the state’s best linebacker.
In a recent conference call with reporters, Miami coach Brian Flores said of McMillan “Raekwon has obviously started a lot of games in this league. Good tackler. Good communicator. Smart player. Plays in the kicking game. He’s still ascending. I think he’s doing well.”
Due $1.1 million in the final year of his original four-year contract, McMillan played on 36 percent of Miami’s special teams snaps last season after being in for only 16 snaps on special teams in 2018.
At 6-foot-2, 242 pounds, McMillan is regarded as a solid run defender who has had issues in coverage — the same problems the Raiders have attempted to address with the signings of Littleton and Kwiatkoski. He had 105 tackles as a 16-game starter in 2018, second on the Dolphins to Kiko Alonso.
According to profootballreference.com, opposing quarterbacks were 42 of 51 for 478 yards and six touchdowns in two seasons while throwing at McMillan.
The Raiders will need to release a player from the roster, currently at 80, when McMillan clears his physical and COVID-19 tests.
