Xavien Howard’s new deal good for him and Miami Dolphins
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins not only retained one of their own draft picks and an elite corner but they did so in a way that helps both sides.
Over the last five years or more the Miami Dolphins have handed out some pretty bad contracts to the likes of Andre Branch, Ryan Tannehill, and others, naturally everyone was on watch for the numbers for Xavien Howard.
For once, the Dolphins did well and it could be a sign that maybe someone is getting it over at the executive offices in Davie.
Howard’s contract extension is a good one for both he and the team. According to OverTheCap.com, the money is spread relatively evenly over the life of the deal. The cap hit ranges from $9.6 million in 2019 to a high of $14.3 million in 2022. Should the Dolphins opt to release or trade him, they would eat $27 million in 2019 and $17.5 in 2020.
The Dolphins have zero intentions of pulling a New York Giants Odell Beckham, Jr. trade (they signed him to a big contract then traded him the following year). The numbers are for reference.
The Dolphins can, however, get out of the deal in year three should they desire. Releasing Howard in 2021 would have $9.3 million in cap space with only a $4.2 million dead money hit. Those numbers continue to decline for the remainder of the deal with cap savings of $11 and $12 million in the final three years and dead money no higher than $2.8 million over those same three seasons.
The deal is a perfect example of a player getting what he wants and the job security but still putting the onus on him to continue to improve and play at a high level. In this deal, both Xavien Howard and the Miami Dolphins win.
With contract extensions for other players on the horizon, especially Laremy Tunsil, these are the types of contracts that the Dolphins will likely be trying to achieve.