Xavien Howard wants out of Miami. The All-Pro cornerback revealed on Instagram this evening that he’s requested a trade from the Dolphins (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter).
This trade demand follows Howard’s previous decision to skip mandatory minicamp in pursuit of a new contract. We recently heard that the defensive back was “dug in” on the contract issue, and it was anticipated that he’d stay away from the organization until the situation was resolved. Instead, the apparent standoff has evolved into a full-blown trade request.
In his statement, Howard said the “business side of the NFL proves organizations don’t always have a player’s best interest at heart,” citing the extension that he didn’t “feel comfortable” signing a few years ago. Howard also noted that he’ll continue to attend training camp to avoid any fines.
“We wanted things to work out with the Dolphins, and brought solutions to the table – like guaranteeing more money – that we felt were win-wins for both sides,” Howard continued. “These were proposal of adjustments that wouldn’t just make me feel more respected, but were also cap friendly. But the Dolphins refused everything we proposed.
“That is why I don’t feel the organization has dealt with me in good faith. I don’t feel valued or respect by the Dolphins. Just like they can take a business-first approach, so can I…That’s why I want to make it clear that I’m not happy and have requested a trade.”
Howard is coming off a tremendous season, intercepting a league-leading 10 passes (the second time in three seasons he has paced the NFL in INTs), and grading out as the second-best CB in the league per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. Though the five-year, $75MM pact Howard signed with the Dolphins in 2019 made him the highest-paid corner in the league at the time, his $15MM AAV is now the sixth-highest mark in football (one spot behind teammate Byron Jones, who is not as good as Howard but who was lucky enough to sign his free agent contract one year later). We learned late last month that Howard was seeking a deal that would at least exceed his teammate’s contract.
Howard’s situation is different than standard contract standoffs considering he has four years remaining on his contract. Whereas a player with one or two years left on his deal would be an easy candidate for a renegotiated pact, a player with Howard’s term would be eyeing a practically unprecedented reworking. Head coach Brian Flores seemed to hint at that “unique situation” back in June.
“After one year, it’s honestly something that hasn’t been done before,” Flores said of Howard’s then-request for a new contract. “Not saying we’re drawing a line in the sand, but different players set the market every year.”
While the Dolphins would surely rather have Howard in uniform, not all is lost, as teams would surely be willing to trade for a player of his caliber. We’ve already heard that the Saints could be a potential landing spot, and Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets that the Cowboys previously reached out about the cornerback.
Sour grapes about his 2019 deal. If he was on a rookie deal not getting a new contract that would be another. This is ridiculous.
Agreed why don’t they ask for language that says they’ll be paid in top
10? ridiculous to they complain
Blah blah blah. You were the highest paid CB 2 years ago. If you wanted a new contract after two years you should’ve asked for a two year deal then. Fu**ing cry baby.
To be fair, he clearly states in the post that he never asked for a NEW contract, but for there to be some restructuring to give him more guaranteed money that would also help with the Dolphins cap.
To be fair, Fins we’re never giving him a new contract. He just wanted (like you mentioned) more guaranteed money.
NOBODY made him sign the contract. So him and his agent are idiots.
Fins have all the leverage and should get a major haul for Howard.
Teams restructure deals all the time when they want to create some more cap space for themselves, and it doesn’t matter how early in the contract it is. If all Howard now wants is to restructure his deal to get himself more guaranteed money – AND give the team some more cap space – why shouldn’t the team just do it? They would if the idea originated with them.
Bingo.
Hey, your team should trade for him!
(Unless you’re a Dolphins fan)
Blah blah blah. You were the highest paid CB in the league 2 years ago. If you wanted a new contract after two years you should’ve asked for a two year deal then.
We got it the first time.
Again, take the long term stability with a little bit less money, or go one year deal to maximize earnings.
There are no stability deals in the NFL. They can cut you anytime. Guaranteed money is the only stability
I am usually all for players in these situations, but Howard is out of his damn mind. Love him as a player and the dolphins are my squad, but I can’t get behind this situation. He literally set the market with his deal, not to mention massive bonuses and guarantees paid out in first two seasons of deal, and now wants a new one? How about you pay back the prorated portion of your signing bonus and maybe miami considers coming to the table with a new deal
The problem is that the prorated signing bonus for this deal was tiny, only $7 million total, or $1.4 million per year. Out of a $64 million contract, that’s ridiculous.
Lol
Come join Minkah
Steeler fan is ridiculous.
No one is going to your 6-11 4th place team.
Miami would be stupid to cave here….they have to play hardball or expect more of this to follow
He has zero leverage. He’s trying to set a league wide precedent so theres no way Ross allows any caving.
If someone blows the Dolphins away with 2 1sts and a starter, then sure good riddance. Otherwise, Miami is in the drivers seat as Howard can’t risk a seasons pay for a raise.
Heck, he even saves in Miami as Florida has no income tax. Just a real head scratcher beyond hurt feelings over natural market progression in the Byron signing.
Neither does Texas
If Howard has backed away from demanding a new contract and is now only asking to restructure his current deal by converting base salary to prorated signing bonuses, then he is only asking for the team to do what teams already can and do do when the team wants to restructure a player’s contract to free up some cap space.
The Vikings did that with Eric Kendricks, with four years and then with three years remaining on his extension (NO! Check that! They restructured Kendricks’ extension with all FIVE years remaining on the contract the first time, and then again with four years remaining).
Negotiations seem to have moved on, but most of the fans (and press?) don’t seem to have noticed.
It’s a shame the NFL and NFLPA didn’t address stuff like this in last years CBA. I’m sick and tired of the players wanting out when they’re under contract. I understand that players get cut all the time and a lot of contracts are not guaranteed but this is really bad for the game.
As good as Howard is, the amount of guaranteed money shouldn’t matter since he will either earn it with Miami or somewhere else on his next contract. Add on top of that he is still a top 10 paid player at his position.
He’ll be 32 if and when he signs a new contract.
Guaranteed money is crucial to the players. When teams sniff around asking to restructure deals or cut them short, offering them more guaranteed money is the carrot that gets the players to bite.
Teams can and do restructure deals all the time when they want to free up cap space, and it doesn’t matter what year the player’s contract is in (The Vikings restructured Eric Kendricks’ deal with five years and four years remaining on his five-year extension) and they don’t even have to ask the player about it, they can just do it with a wave of their accountant’s pen.
If Howard has adjusted his negotiating stance and is only asking to restructure his current deal not for any new money but just to convert non-guaranteed dollars to guaranteed ones, the team should just do it. They would if it was their idea, in a New York instant.
They should trade him to a California team where his taxes go up 11%
Taxes or not . Trading him to Cali team only take him to mostly likely a good team. Unless your the chargers
Come pair up with Lattimore#whodatnation⚜️⚜️
“I don’t feel valued or respect by the Dolphins”.
Just be thankful they didn’t ask you to appear in a Pet Detective movie.
Let’s set aside the question of how this whole situation started and just deal with where the two parties stand now.
Howard has asked for a restructuring of his current deal so as to convert base salary to prorated signing bonus. This will give him more guaranteed money, while giving the team immediate cap relief. If the team is refusing to do this, it is the TEAM that is full of crap!
Other teams restructure players’ deals whenever the team needs cap space, even if the deal has four years running on it. The Vikings did that with Eric Kendricks in both the second and third years of his five-year extension, and they didn’t even need to ask. Teams can just restructure existing deals on their own say-so, without consulting with the player (though sometimes they do). If Howard has backed away from demanding an actual new contract and is only asking for more guaranteed money in his current contract, there is no reason that I can see for the Dolphins to not do this except to reserve the right to do it exclusively on their terms and timetable, and screw the player’s wishes.
If that’s the way the team is playing it, Howard is fully justified in demanding a trade, since he knows if the shoe was on the other foot and the team wanted to restructure his deal with four years remaining on it, they could and would do it in an instant.
Correction: The Vikings restructured Eric Kendricks’ deal in the first (2019) and second (2020) year of his five-year extension to create more cap space for themselves. So the deal still had five years and then four years to run.
If Howard is only looking to restructure his current deal and not get brand new money, he can point to that precedent to blow away the “four years remaining” argument. And I would bet there are similar examples of team-originated restructures early in deals all over the league.
If I were the Dolphins, I’d convert $10 million of this year’s $12.075 million base salary into a signing bonus. That would give them an additional $7.5 million in cap space this year (they’ve got about $8.6 million now, per OTC) with the reduced salary cap, and increase his annual cap hits over the next three years by $2.5 million each, which should be easy to absorb given the growth in the cap next year and the expected growth after that.