Miami Dolphins emphatically deny Xavien Howard is being shopped

There was a report that the Miami Dolphins were shopping Xavien Howard. It was wrong.

On Tuesday, a report surfaced that the Miami Dolphins were shopping Xavien Howard. The report was shot down this morning by the team.

Miami has reportedly received calls about Howard. The Miami Herald reported through Barry Jackson that the team had received at least two calls about his availability but the Dolphins have said they are not interested.

That was not the case with another local paper that reported Miami was actively shopping him. This morning the Dolphins released a statement regarding the situation.

"The report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel is factually inaccurate and based on rumors. The paper practiced poor journalism by not reaching out to the team for comment or the chance to respond prior to publishing the story.” Miami Dolphins statement on Xavien Howard trade rumor."

That is a pretty harsh statement to issue and Omar Kelly issued a comment stating he stands by the information he was given.

Regardless, it appears that the Dolphins are indeed not actively shopping Howard who has four consecutive games with an interception and is healthy for the first time in almost two seasons.

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The Dolphins secondary has looked really good with Byron Jones and Howard in the secondary the last two games.

As for Ryan Fitzpatrick, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald asked Coach Flores about his availability. Flores told him that was a “question for Chris Grier”. Neither confirming or denying the possibility.

While Howard may not be actively shopped, we can’t rule out that a trade might still happen. The Dolphins are set to pay him over $11 million each of the next three seasons and his health has been a pause for concern over the last couple of seasons. In addition, does anyone think if the Dolphins received a similar package to what the Texans offered for Laremy Tunsil that they wouldn’t take it? Me neither.