MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins unveiled cornerback Xavien Howard on Wednesday, parting with their longest-tenured participant.
Howard had 331 tackles and 95 passes deflected in eight seasons with the Dolphins, who chosen him at No. 38 in the 2016 NFL draft.
The 30-year-aged Howard is a 4-time Pro Bowler and was a very first-group All-Pro in 2020, when he experienced a league-higher 10 interceptions and 20 passes defensed. Only Denver’s Justin Simmons has a lot more interceptions (30) than Howard’s 29 since 2016. That quantity is tied for fourth most in Dolphins heritage.
The Dolphins educated Howard late very last month that he would be unveiled at the start of the new league calendar year, which began at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday. Typical supervisor Chris Grier mentioned it wasn’t an quick selection.
“That was a rough 1,” Grier claimed at the NFL blend previous thirty day period. “Xavien and I experienced a extended discussion simply because he was the next participant I drafted in this article in 2016. He and I have been by means of a ton of things right here and we have been just speaking about how happy I was from early when he initial obtained listed here. … We experienced a very long dialogue and he understood it was a enterprise final decision. At the stop of the working day, we just felt it was right for him to have this prospect for his agent to go see what is out there for him.”
Grier explained the team was open to bringing the veteran again, but Howard said on “The Joe Rose Show” on WQAM-AM that doorway is closed.
“In this organization, you know how it goes,” Howard said. “It’s been eight many years, and I have observed the business enterprise aspect of it so lots of occasions. Me and my agent talked about it just before we signed our final offer that which is how it was gonna take place, and it ended up going on. So I was not stunned at all.”
Howard signed a five-year extension in 2022 soon after he experienced beforehand asked for a trade. He experienced a $25.9 million cap hit in 2024 and is specified a article-June 1 reduce, which will conserve Miami $18.5 million in cap space with about $23 million in lifeless cap funds.
Howard’s generation declined the previous two seasons as he dealt with injuries. He played by way of groin injuries in 2022 and was minimal to 13 game titles in 2023 due to the fact of hip and foot accidents.
The Dolphins have also misplaced standout defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (Las Vegas), security Brandon Jones (Denver) and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (Minnesota) due to the fact the begin of cost-free company.
Miami has also produced linebacker Jerome Baker and defensive conclusion Emmanuel Ogbah.
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