The Dolphins currently have a salary cap issue; we all know it. One of the easy cuts to help take some strain off the salary cap is the Miami Dolphins releasing superstar cornerback Xavien Howard.

That will most likely be a post-June 1st cut, so the money on the cap won’t be available until after June 1st.

The situation Miami currently has with Xavien Howard is an interesting one. He is still a very good and reliable player on the field when he plays, but in the past two seasons, injuries have hampered his play and caused him to miss a handful of games.

Not to mention, we have seen Howard beaten on pass plays at a much higher rate, something that we never used to see in the past, as he was arguably the league’s best cornerback in 2020 and 2021. There are also his off-the-field issues that have occurred in the past year or two, which raises the question of whether his focus is fully on football.

The situation Miami finds itself in, though, is difficult because even with the overall salary cap rising, Miami is still $40+ million over the cap. They have to give Tua a long-term extension (and yes, they are; don’t think they won’t do that) as well as figure out if they can afford to keep Christian Wilkins either on a franchise tag or give him a big-money, long-term contract extension.

To do either of those things, let alone try and keep other free agents they may not want to lose or add players from other teams they may want to add to the roster, clearing cap space is a must, and it must happen quickly.

So, a decision on Xavien Howard will most likely come by March 15th. Why that date, you ask? Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald laid it out perfectly here regarding Howard being cut on or before June 1st and pay attention to the last sentence specifically. “If he’s cut or traded before that date, he would carry a $23.1 million dead money hit. But if he’s released or traded with a post-June 1 designation, he would carry only a $7.4 million dead money hit for 2024, and the $18.5 million in cap savings could not be used until after June 1. According to overthecap.com, $4 million of his salary becomes guaranteed on March 15.”

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald is also reporting, “An NFL associate of Howard (someone who has a relationship with him but does not work for him) said his sense is that Howard is very much open to outside options and would be reluctant to take a big pay cut to remain here, but couldn’t say with certainty what he would do if asked to take a small pay cut.”

Howard also went on his Instagram this week and put up a cryptic message with words from the musician Usher that stated, “Sometimes you got to leave. Sometimes you have to go away from home to be truly valued and appreciated and maybe find yourself. Sometimes in the wilderness you find something valuable and you can come back and really enjoy it.”

Many fans and media types are reading into Xavien, talking about how his time in Miami may be coming to an end. But with these things, I often don’t read into them too much as many times it may be a player talking about something totally unrelated to his playing career.

Either way, whether the IG post means anything or not, many expect Miami to move on from Xavien Howard by March 15th with a post-June 1st designation.

With that said, what does Miami do next?

It is easy to cut a player with a big salary cap number to open up a ton of cap space, but then comes the harsh reality of replacing that player on the field.

While Xavien may not be as dominant as he was in 2020 and 2021, he is still a very good football player.

Does Miami have anyone in-house to replace him?

Well, Kader Kohou had a miserable 2023 season, and his play fell off dramatically from his 2022 rookie campaign. No Dolphins fan should feel comfortable with him stepping into that role.

Cam Smith is a total unknown. He didn’t play last year because Vic Fangio didn’t put him on the field, and while he could be the 2nd coming of Patrick Surtain, he also could be the next Noah Igbinoghene. We just don’t know, and “hoping” he is good, well, as I always say, “HOPE ISN’T A PLAN.”

Nik Needham is a free agent, and while he didn’t see the field last season as he was coming off an Achilles injury, is he back to 100% and capable of being a starting cornerback on a team with expectations to make the playoffs and win playoff games?

Then there is Eli Apple….yeah I know how many of you feel about that, so I will just move on.

Or do the Dolphins look to the draft with a pick in rounds 1 and 2 to find another cornerback to add to the room, let that pick and Cam Smith fight it out in training camp, and may the best man win?

Or does Miami take what little cap space they will have and invest in a proven cornerback from the free-agent market?

Those are the questions, but I am not sure what the answer is.

It will be interesting to see what Chris Grier decides here in regards to how to replace Xavien Howard should he decide it’s time to move on from him.

Again, it’s easy to cut a player, but it’s much tougher to replace them.