Xavien Howard is not happy with the Miami Dolphins, and he wants out of South Beach. Being a high-level cornerback like Howard is, many teams will be interested in acquiring him. The cornerback position has a ton of value, especially if a corner is elite like Howard because the NFL is, for the most part, a passing league first and foremost.

Some things to think about as far as this possible trade are that Howard wants a new deal, and any team that wants him needs to be in a win-now mode. Whatever team acquires Howard needs to be prepared to satisfy his pay demands. Also, a team not making a playoff push would not want to get rid of draft picks to the Dolphins because it would not be a smart move. Considering these things, here are three teams that could be possible trade destinations for Xavien Howard.

[pickup_prop id=”9663″]

New England Patriots

The Miami Dolphins play New England twice a year, so it’s not the best scenario, but Howard could be traded to the Patriots for Stephon Gilmore. Getting an All-Pro corner in return for one isn’t too bad. It isn’t the best-case scenario for the Dolphins, but it isn’t the worst as Miami would be filling the need at corner with Howard leaving. Some draft picks as extra compensation to go with Gilmore from the Patriots would sweeten the deal for Miami and make it a more likely option. The New England Patriots have draft picks in every round, so sending Gilmore to South Beach with a first, second, or third-round pick might be enough to bring Howard up to Foxborough in 2021.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers are sitting comfortably with $18 million in cap space and could afford to pay Howard. Adding an elite corner such as Xavien to their secondary alongside Derwin James would make it an intimidating unit. Even though Los Angeles isn’t a contender right now, adding Howard would help them greatly. The Chargers need to add star defensive backs to compete in the AFC West against quarterbacks like Patrick Maholmes and Derek Carr. For Miami, they could potentially receive some high draft picks for Howard in a trade with Los Angeles. The Chargers could dish out potentially a first, second, third, or fourth-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for Howard. Possibly even a combination of draft picks for the All-Pro corner.

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a team looking to win now with the signings of J.J. Watt and A.J. Green. Adding Howard would increase the likelihood of the Cardinals winning games in a tough NFC West division that features Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Matthew Stafford. Arizona finished last year 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Adding an elite corner like Howard would help them immediately in 2021, especially if Xavien puts up numbers as he had in Miami with 10 Interceptions, 51 tackles, and two forced fumbles. That type of production would transform the Cardinals’ defense into a different animal. For the Dolphins, they would receive something like Chandler Jones, an elite pass rusher opposite rookie Jaelan Phillips. Head Coach Brian Flores would utilize Jones effectively in his defense if Miami received him in a trade package for Howard.