The Dolphins are not pleased with high-priced cornerback Byron Maxwell. Last week, the Dolphins deactivated him prior to their London game against the Saints. The assumption in the football world was that Maxwell was taken out of the lineup for substandard play. That is true, but the problem goes deeper than that. In addition to his struggles, Maxwell has refused to play the defenses called by coaches, Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald hears. 
After being bumped from the active roster, Maxwell aired his frustrations to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson without giving a full account of the reasons behind his benching. That incensed the coaching staff even more, Salguero hears, and one has to wonder whether the Dolphins could get frustrated enough to release Maxwell outright and eat the money still owed to him.
“ …In no way, shape, did I think my play [warranted] that,” Maxwell said recently. “It’s a coach’s decision. Sometimes you have to deal with it. I’m a team player. Suck it up. Obviously, you think you’re the best man to do the job. You can’t control it. Everyone is trying to support your family trying to do the job.”
Two weeks ago, Dolphins coaches called for Maxwell to play press-man for much of the game against the Jets. Instead, he played far off of the Jets’ receivers as Gang Green rolled to a 20-6 victory. Now, the 29-year-old has ceded his starting job to rookie Cordrea Tankersley. He’s also been leapfrogged on the depth chart by Alterraun Verner, even though coaches feel that Maxwell is the superior talent.
The Dolphins would probably like to cut ties with Maxwell at this point, but his contract makes that hard to do. Releasing him today would leave them on the hook for a significant portion of his $8.5MM cap number. The good news, however, is that Miami can cut him after the season instead of carrying his $10MM cap number in 2018.