Xavien Howard: even if you think he is the best, you under appreciate him
By Kevin Hood
Xavien Howard was the story of the offseason. His holdout was all any media member and fan could talk about. Howard was far better than his contract would display; no one could argue against that.
When he signed his contract, the Miami Dolphins took a gamble, as Howard was not playing at the high level he played at during the 2020 NFL season. Xavien used the tools at his deposal to leverage the Miami Dolphins to increase compensation to come close to his defensive back-field teammate Byron Jones.
There seems to be a split between Dolphins fans all offseason of whether they supported Xavien Howard’s decision to hold out to increase his salary. Every passing week the sides of fans and media members grew farther and farther apart. When Howard officially asked for a trade to another team, fans were seen on social media screaming to pay him or send Xavien Howard packing to a last-place team.
During his offseason, he was at the forefront of NFL news and trending almost weekly on Twitter. What did Xavien Howard do? He put in work. He was taking care of his body and mind while away from his team. You hear it every year before players are traded or cut, “The NFL is a business.” Xavien Howard took care of his business and remained on the path to put his team in a position to win. The victory Sunday was made possible by Xavien Howard’s playmaking ability; He went in for a routine tackle.
As a top turnover producer in the NFL, he punched the ball, creating a fumble that changed the game. New England was marching with less than 4 minutes left; if Miami allowed a score, the ability for the offense to move the ball down the field had been limited in the second half. It would have been challenging to march down and score to close out the game.
Since Howard punched out the ball from Damien Harris, the only thing the Miami offense needed to do was run out the clock by gaining a 1st down before the 2-minute warning. Miami fans should all be grateful Howard went about his business the way he did because now Miami and Xavien Howard should be married together for as long as the relationship is healthy.