During his media session at the NFL Scouting Combine, Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said the door is not shut on a Xavien Howard return to the Dolphins, and he is open to bringing him back. Grier said both sides will remain in touch in the coming weeks and months.
Interesting note from Dolphins GM Chris Grier about CB Xavien Howard — the door is not shut on a return to Miami
Grier said both sides will remain in touch. Sounds like a greater than zero percent chance Howard returns after testing the market
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) February 28, 2024
Howard was a 2nd round pick by the Dolphins in 2016. He has played eight seasons for Miami and has 29 interceptions. In 2022, Howard signed a five-year contract with $50.69 million in new money. The new deal replaced the final three years of his previous contract, which was to have paid him $39.3 million through 2024.
Howard will be released with a post-June 1st designation, opening up $18.5 million in salary cap space. I recently wrote that cutting Howard is easy, as the cap space is needed. But replacing him on the field will not be easy.
In-house, Miami has an unknown in Cam Smith, Kader Kohou, who is coming off a down season and is more of a nickel CB than a boundary CB, and nobody else on the roster you would want to compete for a starting job.
Eli Apple and Nik Needham are free agents, and Miami doesn’t have a ton of salary cap space to be big spenders this offseason to find a high-priced cornerback.
While Howard isn’t the elite player he was a few years back, he is still good and an above-average starter in this league; in the past four seasons, he has started 16, 16, 15, and 13 games and has been durable and someone willing to play through injuries. If Miami can make it work financially to bring him back, I think it would be ideal for them from an on-the-field football perspective.
