Miami Dolphins may need to trade Xavien Howard this year
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins went through a rocky situation last year with Xavien Howard and they could be headed into another nightmare in 2022.
At some point in time, enough is enough. On Tuesday, Howard Tweeted out a rather odd message. Was it a simple, good-bye for the season or is there something deeper to it?
— Xavien Howard (@Iamxavienhoward) January 11, 2022
Speaking to several people close to the Dolphins, there is a genuine desire to get out of Miami for Howard. Last year, money saved him but it may not be that easy this year. If the Dolphins are hellbent on keeping him, they are likely going to run into more off-season issues that include him staying away from the team’s workouts.
What the Dolphins should do, is trade him. If he is indeed disgruntled and his Twitter message is him wanting to say good-bye, then Chris Grier needs to field calls and ship him off to the highest bidder or one of the worst teams in the NFL where he can cry some more.
Howard will go to another Pro Bowl this year but we all know that he was not close to the corner he was in 2021 that led to his desire for an adjusted contract. Some believe that he will try and leverage more money this off-season. At some point, again, enough is enough.
Fans will not be happy if the they lose Howard and the Dolphins defense will not be as good but Miami can still find and sign a boundary corner to replace him. They will have a draft pick that they can spend if needed. What they have to do is avoid problems within the locker room. There is far too much drama right now as it is.
Howard doesn’t have any trade clauses in his contract so he doesn’t control where he would be traded to. He could refuse to play for a team and threaten to sit out but the Dolphins could just as easily discipline him and sit him out withholding his salary.
It appears, at least on the surface, that the Dolphins are going to have a problem again this off-season. If they do, and I will cautiously say that is a BIG IF, then this is the last off-season that he will have much value. Trade him and get something in return and then move on.