If the Miami Dolphins can’t pay Xavien Howard what he’s value, they should transfer him now and get a haul of belongings in return.
Not many guys would ask for a elevate after one yr of a five-year extension. Then once more, not many gamers are Xavien Howard.
The star Miami Dolphins cornerback is holding out of necessary minicamp this week in a transparent try and see a change to his contract. Howard, 27, led the NFL with 10 interceptions and 20 passes defensed final season, garnering murmurs of Defensive Player of the Year discuss.
A former second-round choose in 2016, Howard has starred for Miami over the previous 5 seasons. Prior to the 2019 marketing campaign, the previous Baylor star signed a five-year, $75 million extension with $46 million assured. At the time, it was a market-setting deal at his place.
However, issues have modified since. The Dolphins paid fellow nook Byron Jones $82 million ($54.3M assured) over 5 years in 2020 free company, making Howard second-best on his personal group. While common supervisor Chris Grier has achieved a terrific job in Miami, paying an in-house star much less on the identical place was sure to trigger friction.
What are the Miami Dolphins going to do with Xavien Howard and his contract?
For Miami, it has just a few selections. The Dolphins can re-negotiate the deal, which doubtless contains packing more assured cash into the following few seasons whereas tacking on just a few years on the finish, basically performing as group choices. Howard will surely like safety, because the group would solely eat $4.2 million over the ultimate three years of the contract in useless cash if he was launched.
Miami might additionally stand pat, with Grier ready Howard out. Under the brand new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Jones could be fined each day for lacking coaching camp practices and the group isn’t allowed to waive the advantageous as has been the case in earlier years.
Finally, the Dolphins might trade him. Miami has Jones on one facet and second-year man Noah Igbinoghene, a former first-round choose, to man the opposite boundary. However, the Dolphins are already flush with draft capital and dropping Howard, the group’s greatest participant, could be an enormous blow to their climb throughout the AFC East.
The greatest transfer is probably going a restructure with a team-friendly extension on the again finish. This approach, Howard will get paid what he’s value and the Dolphins keep flexibility long run.
