As I write the title, part of me wants to click over to Twitter to make sure the Miami Dolphins haven’t traded Xavien Howard. I know they won’t.
Xavien Howard had a career year in 2020 and the Dolphins are hoping that a repeat performance will come again in 2021. There were rumors early in the off-season that Howard was going to seek a new contract with more money. So far, that hasn’t happened but then again, there have been no mandatory or involuntary workouts yet.
Will Howard get traded? That’s a question that once again surfaced recently on social media but if you are worried, I wouldn’t be. The Dolphins could use the cap space and would save over $9 million if they found a trade partner but the Dolphins don’t need the space so badly that they would take less than what his value is to the team.
Miami would need to find a willing trade partner and at minimum, that team would have to be willing to give up multiple 2nd round picks if not a first-round pick. That makes it tough unless a team that is drafting in the bottom half of round one sees a run on corners and realizes their best option would be the X-man.
Even then, that team would likely have to wow Chris Grier like the Texans did when they wanted Laremy Tunsil. Howard won’t get the same exchange but a deal that includes multiple high picks could get the ball rolling. Even then, it’s a stretch and we probably would have heard rumors by now.
When the off-season workouts begin we will have a better idea of where Xavien’s head is at as it relates to a new contract. Playing on his current one will give him a lot more ammunition to approach the Dolphins for a big raise but at the same time, could give the Dolphins more of a chance of trading him for more draft picks than they may get this year.
Either way, for now, Howard’s name will continue to be mentioned as a potential asset in trade talks but thus far, there aren’t any embers burning that give the sense a rumor may even start and Howard could be part of a big trade on draft day but that is unlikely and frankly, the Dolphins would do themselves no justice by moving him without being in a position to draft his replacement. So at least for the near future, I wouldn’t put too much into the speculation.