Xavien Howard active for Miami Dolphins Monday night’s game

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 02: Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins looks on during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium on December 2, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 02: Xavien Howard #25 of the Miami Dolphins looks on during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium on December 2, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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The Miami Dolphins have received some good news today as Xavien Howard will return to the starting lineup tonight against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Xavien Howard has missed the last several weeks due to injury but tonight he will be back on the field and will cover the Steelers’ top wide-out Ju-Ju Smith Schuster. It should be a good match-up.

Miami has missed the play of Howard in the secondary and clearly, their best defensive player has been needed. It will be interesting to see how the Dolphins defense looks with Howard back on the field.

While Howard will be back, Reshad Jones will miss yet another game as he remains inactive. Some have speculated that his inactivity could be due to a potential trade but that is simply wishful thinking.

Joining Jones will be center Daniel Kilgore who is dealing with a knee injury. Fellow offensive lineman Keaton Sutherland and offensive tackle Andrew Donnal will also be inactive. Donnal remained in Miami and did not make the trip to Pittsburgh.

Receiver Isaiah Ford, running back Myles Gaskin, and defensive end Avery Moss round out the inactives for tonight’s game.

One player that is active is defensive tackle Robert Nkemdichi. Nkemdichi was activated off the physically unable to perform list today. He will be active and is expected to play tonight in some capacity. His activation will fill the roster hole left by the trade of Kenyan Drake.

The former first-round draft pick was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins earlier this year but he was not able to complete the team’s conditioning and failed his physical.

The Dolphins will play their only Monday Night Football game of the season tonight in Pittsburgh. The Steelers come into the game with three wins while Miami remains winless.