Miami Dolphins Howard and Jones cleared to face the Patriots

Miami Dolphins Xavien Howard and Byron Jones cleared to face the Patriots.

The Miami Dolphins got good news on Friday as both their top cornerbacks have been cleared to play on Sunday against the Patriots.

Xavien Howard will play his first game since the middle of last season when he suffered a knee injury. He has missed almost all of training camp and what little he was there for, he didn’t do too much. Now, he will jump into a game to face off against the team’s division rivals.

Byron Jones was Miami’s big-ticket free agent and at the time, he received the largest contract for a corner in NFL history. Jones was listed on the mid-week injury report with an unspecified Achilles injury. That had some fans worried about what his status might be.

Against the Patriots, both corners should see plenty of opportunities as the Patriots’ wide-receivers are not elite by any means. In fact, the Patriots WR’s lack of depth and quality experience for the most part.

Getting Jones and Howard back though is huge for the Dolphins and are significant members of the Dolphins leadership. It will be interesting to see how well Howard plays with a quality corner playing on the opposite side of the field.

Facing Cam Newton won’t be easy but lately, the former league MVP has been inconsistent. He wasn’t expected to start for the Patriots until an injury to Stidham during camp. The Patriots are favored by a touchdown heading into the weekend.