Linebacker K.J. Britt to sign with Dolphins as linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. will join Bucs
The Miami Dolphins and Tampa Buccaneers essentially swapped linebackers.
K.J. Britt will join the Dolphins while Anthony Walker Jr. will head to the Buccaneers, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday morning. Both players signed one-year deals with their respective teams.
The move comes less than a day after the Dolphins re-signed fellow inside linebacker Tyrel Dodson to a two-year, $8.25 million contract, according to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
A fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Britt started 17 of a potential 65 games for the Bucs. All 17 starts came during the past two seasons. In 2024, he started 11 games and logged 72 combined tackles, two tackles for loss as well as half a sack.
Britt has amassed two quarterback hits, three pass deflections and more than 125 combined tackles through his four-year career.
Walker, meanwhile, joined the Dolphins in 2024 after seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns. He slid into the starting linebacker spot after the release of David Long Jr. The 29-year-old battled a knee injury in 2024 that caused him to miss three games, including the final two.
As a Dolphin, Walker racked up 68 combined tackles, one sack and an interception. His career totals include more than 580 combined tackles, 26 tackles for loss and four interceptions.
Walker’s time in Miami also allotted him the opportunity to return to Miami Gardens Monsignor Pace High School, his alma mater, to help his father coach football.
“He coached me in high school, and I didn’t think I’d want to coach after I was done playing,” Walker said of his father. “But actually, just being around the game so long now and learning so much and knowing the influence of a good coach on a player, that’s what made me want to do it.”
Running back added
The Dolphins added a bulkier body to their running back room on Thursday when they agreed to terms with 5-11, 220-pound Alexander Mattison, who spent last season with the Raiders after five with the Vikings.
Mattison played in 14 games and started seven for Las Vegas last season, running 132 times for 420 yards (3.2 per carry) and scoring four touchdowns. Earlier in the day, the Raiders essentially replaced him with Raheem Mostert, who was cut by the Dolphins last month.
For his career, Mattison has averaged 3.9 yards per carry on 716 attempts, with 15 touchdowns.
He also has 136 career receptions for 1012 yards (7.4 per catch) with seven touchdowns.
He averaged 4.6 and 4.5 yards in his first two seasons but has been below 4.0 per carry in three seasons since.
Per PFF, he averaged 2.39 yards after contact in 2024, which was 49th in the league of 50 backs who attempted at least 88 carries last season.
Mattison has appeared in 89 games and started 26 of them.
The Vikings selected him in the third round, 102nd overall, in 2019 out of Boise State. He joined the Raiders last March, 14 days after the Vikings released him one year into a two-year, $7 million extension.
Mattison, 26, gives the Dolphins a bigger back to complement the 5-9, 188-pound De’Von Achane and the 5-10, 209-pound Jaylen Wright. Miami is expected to add an additional running back or two in the draft process.
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 10:26 AM.
