Benardrick McKinney 20141108
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Benardrick Cornelius McKinney (born November 19, 1992) is an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
who is a free agent. He played
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
at
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...
and was selected by the
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
in the second round of the
2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...
.


High school career

A native of
Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the Uni ...
, McKinney attended
Rosa Fort High School Rosa Fort High School (RFHS) is a senior high school in unincorporated Tunica County, Mississippi, adjacent to the North Tunica CDP, and near Tunica. It is a part of the Tunica County School District. History After the rise of the gambling indu ...
, where he played linebacker and quarterback for the varsity
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team and also started for the basketball team. In his junior season, McKinney threw for 530 yards with five touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards and one score, while also serving as the team's punter. On defense, he was credited with 34 tackles on the season. As a senior, McKinney accounted for 2,036 total yards of offense and 22 touchdowns (seven on the ground and fifteen passes) with 1,334 passing and 702 yards rushing. He also almost doubled his tackle total with 66. For postseason honors, the state’s high school coaches selected him to the North/South All-Star Game as a linebacker. Regarded as a three-star recruit by
247Sports.com 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite be ...
, McKinney was ranked as the No. 49 athlete in his class. He was recruited by
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
,
Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
and
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...
. Eventually accepting the Bulldogs' scholarship offer, McKinney became the first Rosa Fort player to sign with an SEC program since 2001.


College career

After redshirting his initial year at Mississippi State, McKinney played in all 13 games in the 2012 season. By the fourth game, he made the starting lineup and remained there for the rest of the season. A week later at
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
McKinney posted 12 tackles (10 solo), 1 tackle for loss and his first two career pass breakups, earning him Co-SEC Freshman of the Week, alongside
Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a mem ...
. The week after that he recorded a season-high 14 tackles at home against
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, which he tied later in a loss to
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
. For the season, McKinney totalled 102 tackles, which led all SEC freshmen and tied for second among freshmen in the FBS. He earned All-SEC Freshman honors by the SEC coaches and ESPN.com, and was named a First-team Freshman All-American by CBSSports.com, FoxSportsNext, Phil Steele and CollegeFootballNews.com. As a sophomore, McKinney led the team in tackles with 71 and sacks with 3.5. As a junior, he again led the team in tackles with 71. He was named first-team All-SEC and was an All-American. After his junior season, McKinney entered the
2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...
.


Professional career

Prior to his junior season, McKinney was projected as a first round selection in the 2015 NFL draft. On January 9, 2015, McKinney announced that he had decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2015 NFL draft. Before the start of the pre-draft events, McKinney was ranked as the second best linebacker in the draft by NFL analyst
Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock (born August 14, 1958) is a former American football executive and former player who served as the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) from 2019 to 2021. Mayock was a safety with ...
. He was one of 34 collegiate linebackers to attend the
NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...
in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
. McKinney completed all of the essential combine drills and finished second among all linebackers in the vertical jump, fifth in the
broad jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
, ninth in the short shuttle, tenth in the 40-yard dash, and tied for 11th amongst his position group in the
three-cone drill The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in p ...
. On March 4, 2015, he attended Mississippi State's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills for the team representatives and scouts from 29 NFL teams, including New York Jets' defensive coordinator
Kacy Rodgers Kacy Rodgers (born June 24, 1969) is an American football coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Tennessee and was a part of the Pittsburgh Steelers practice s ...
and New Orleans Saints' assistant head coach
Joe Vitt Joe Vitt (born August 23, 1954) is an American football coach who last coached for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was previously the assistant head coach and linebackers coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Foo ...
. As a highly sought after prospect, McKinney attended private visits and workouts with multiple NFL teams, including the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
,
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
,
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
,
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
,
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
,
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
,
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
,
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
,
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
,
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
, and
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, McKinney was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the third best linebacker in the draft by NFL analyst
Lance Zierlein Lance Zierlein is a sports analyst and commentator. He has hosted sports talk shows on KILT 610, KBME 790, KGOW 1560 AM, and KFNC 97.5 FM in Houston, Texas Career Zierlein graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in 1988. Following high sc ...
, was ranked the fourth best linebacker by ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'', was ranked the fifth best inside linebacker by Charles Davis, and was ranked the fifth best linebacker in the draft by NFL analyst
Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock (born August 14, 1958) is a former American football executive and former player who served as the general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) from 2019 to 2021. Mayock was a safety with ...
.


Houston Texans


2015

The
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
selected McKinney in the second round (43rd overall) of the
2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...
. The Texans traded to the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
their second (51st overall), fourth (116th overall), and sixth round (195th overall) picks in the 2015 NFL draft to move up and draft McKinney after receiving the Browns' second (43rd overall) and seventh round (229th overall) picks. He was the fourth linebacker selected in 2015. On May 8, 2015, the Texans signed McKinney to a four-year, $5.34 million contract that includes $2.82 million guaranteed and a
signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...
of $2.14 million. He entered training camp competing against veterans
Akeem Dent Akeem Dent (born September 24, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Georgia. He played for the Atlanta Falcons and Houston T ...
,
Mike Mohamed Michael Patrick Mohamed (born March 11, 1988) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at California. Mohamed is the first player of Punjab ...
, and
Jeff Tarpinian Jeff Tarpinian (born October 16, 1987) is an Armenian-American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Iowa. Early years He w ...
for a job as a starting inside linebacker. Head coach Bill O'Brien named McKinney the backup inside linebacker behind
Brian Cushing Brian Patrick Cushing (born January 24, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft and played his entire 9-year career for the ...
and Akeem Dent to start the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Texans' season-opener against the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
and recorded one solo tackle in their 27–20 loss. In Week 3, McKinney earned his first career start after head coach Bill O'Brien opted to start the rookie over Akeem Dent. He recorded four combined tackles in the Texans' 19–9 win against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
. On October 18, 2015, he made his third career start and recorded three combined tackles during a 31–20 victory at the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
. He left the game in the third quarter after sustaining a
concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
and missed the next two games (Weeks 7-8). In Week 14, McKinney made a season-high ten combined tackles during a 27–6 loss to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. The following week, he recorded seven combined tackles and made his first career sack on
Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during his c ...
in the Texans' 16–10 win at the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
. He finished his rookie season with 63 combined tackles (37 solo) and one sack in 14 games and 11 starts. The Texans finished first in the
AFC South The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 2002 s ...
with a 9-7 record and received a playoff berth. On January 9, 2016, McKinney started his first career playoff game and recorded nine combined tackles as the Texans were routed 30–0 by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC wildcard game.


2016

McKinney was slated as the starting inside linebacker heading into the regular season along with Brian Cushing and outside linebackers
Jadeveon Clowney Jadeveon Davarus Clowney ( ; born February 14, 1993) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Carolina, where he won the Ted Hendricks Award, and wa ...
and
Whitney Mercilus Whitney Mercilus (born July 21, 1990) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the Houston Texans. He played college football at Illinois, where he received unanimous ...
. On September 22, 2016, McKinney recorded a career-high 16 combined tackles (ten solo) and a sack on
Jacoby Brissett Jacoby Jajuan Brissett (born December 11, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Following a college football stint with Florida, he played at NC State and was selected in the t ...
as the Texans were routed by the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
27–0. The following week, he collected nine combined tackles and forced the first fumble of his career in a 27–20 win against the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
. On October 15, 2016, McKinney recorded 12 combined tackles and a sack during a 26–23 win against the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
. McKinney was awarded second-team
All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
after finishing the regular season as the only inside linebacker in the NFL with at least 100 tackles and five sacks. He finished the season with a total of 129 combined tackles (79 solo), five sacks, and two pass deflections in 16 games and 16 starts.
Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
gave McKinney an overall grade of 81.0 in 2016. For the second consecutive year, the Texans finished first in their division with a 9-7 record and made it to the playoffs. On January 7, 2017, the Texans played the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
in the AFC wild card game and McKinney recorded seven tackles in a 27–14 victory. They were eliminated from the playoffs the following week after being defeated by the eventual
Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confer ...
Champions, the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
in the AFC Divisional Round.


2017

McKinney returned as the Texans' starting inside linebacker under new defensive coordinator
Mike Vrabel Michael George Vrabel (; born August 14, 1975) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he earned con ...
. He started the Texans' season-opener against the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...
and recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles and a forced fumble during a 29-7 loss. The following week, McKinney collected six combined tackles and sacked quarterback
Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...
twice in the Texans' 13-9 win at the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
. In Week 11, he made a season-high tying seven solo tackle and an assisted tackle as the Texans defeated the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
31-21. McKinney finished his third season in with 95 combined tackles (62 solo), three sacks, and a pass deflection in 16 games and 16 starts.
Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
gave McKinney an overall grade of 79.7, which ranked him 24th among all qualifying linebackers.


2018

On June 14, 2018, McKinney signed a five-year, $50 million contract extension with the Texans with $21 million guaranteed.


2019

In week 6 against the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
, McKinney recovered a fumble by
Patrick Mahomes Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes, he initially played co ...
in the 31-24 win.


2020

On October 13, 2020, McKinney was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a shoulder injury.


Miami Dolphins

On March 17, 2021, McKinney and a 2021 seventh-round pick was traded to the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
in exchange for defensive end
Shaq Lawson Shaquille Lawson (born June 17, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson, and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the ...
and a 2021 sixth-round pick. He was released before the season on August 31, 2021.


New York Giants

On October 19, 2021 McKinney was signed to the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
practice squad. On October 23, 2021, McKinney was elevated from the practice to the active roster for week 7 game against the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
On November 1, 2021, McKinney was elevated from the practice squad for the second time of the season for week 8 game against the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
. On November 4, 2021, McKinney was activated off the practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement and reverted back to the practice squad four days later. On November 17, 2021, McKinney was signed to the active roster.


References


External links

*
Mississippi State Bulldogs bio

Houston Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckinney, Benardrick 1992 births Living people People from Tunica, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi American football linebackers Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Houston Texans players Miami Dolphins players New York Giants players American Conference Pro Bowl players