Xavien Howard Extension Another Anti ‘Tank’ Move
Howard’s talents are reminiscent of other Miami 2nd RD Corners Madison & Surtain
The Miami Dolphins extended star cornerback Xavien Howard to a 5-year $76.5 million dollar contract with $46 million guaranteed…
… This extension was another move against the talk that Flores plans to ‘Tank’ in 2019.
At 25, Howard will still be in his prime when the Dolphins attempt a serious run… and is crucial if Brian Flores wants to compete now.
A contract holdout would have fueled the believers in ‘el tanko’.
IF Miami wants any real chance to compete in 2019, they must get everyone on the same page without distractions. Having a ‘money issue’ with your best and most deserving player would have put a wedge between Flores and his aim… and maybe the team.
Yes, it’s a ton of money… Nearly 10% of the teams Cap. But as I said previously, “The CAP is more flexible than a rapier. With the cuts coming and Miami not being burdened down with an expensive QB contract, $15 million per season will be far less over the remaining years of his contract… if it’s front-loaded to 2019.”
Down the road, when Miami needs to sign some other stars, they’ll be at the cheaper portion of his contract. This will allow them to fit Howard and say Tunsil and Minkah easily under the CAP.
Howard is one of Miami’s four best 2nd Round Picks in the last twenty-five years along with Sam Madison, Patrick Surtain, and Jarvis Landry. Then there’s his personality: quiet, humble, a hard worker, and team first. You rarely find players with this much talent and so little diva.
Did Miami overpay? Sure. But Alain Poupart offered succinct perspective on Howard’s ability:
Or if you want a prettier version, here’s Yung Mayo:
(BTW: The evil overlord Twitter is sticking it to him, so subscribe to his channel on Youtube… and sling a stone at ‘the man’.)
Anyone else growing tired of these tech giants?
As for Howard, I expect these numbers to become even better in a coherent scheme with quality coaching…
… and even more so when the pass rush picks up–at some point.
Now, to offer the counter to this rosy picture.
PFF ranked Howard only the 16th best corner… and then there’s the only real concern in my mind: The history of knee injuries.
For me, the knee is my only concern. PFF lacks some context here as Howard was operating on a terrible defense that put him in disadvantageous situations far too often.But it wouldn’t be ‘good coverage’ if I didn’t mention it.
Now about that knee…
Xavien Howard has been a starter in 36 of 48 games (because of injury) since his rookie season. There have been 3 surgeries to trim his knee meniscus over three seasons with last year being his most recent ‘fix-up’. Given the history, the pay per heads are betting this issue pops up again. Maybe Flores can bring some magic… and the right trainers to change this course.
Still, the contract Chris Grier setup appears to only bind the Dolphins to Howard for three more seasons. This eases my worries… a little.
Bottom line: I’m rooting for Howard because of who he is as a man and as a Phin fan wanting a good player on the field. I never like it when a good guy finishes last… and Howard is a truly a good guy.
Also, from a practical side, the chances are slim Miami would have found proper value in any trade scenario for Howard. Besides, any picks gained would have been used on another corner anyway. Beyond the injury concern, the contract was a wise one… and is another check in the plus column for Grier and Co. Fans can at least say we aren’t waving goodbye to another good draft pick.
That’s a turn for the better! Go Phins!!!
P.S. FB erased an hour’s worth of replies to you guys. I’m done with them and will reply in the comment section. If you care to see my replies, look there. Sorry for the inconvenience.
With the house cleaning that we went through this off season, it’s time for the team to start anew with writing these contracts, and stop back loading them where it makes it next to impossible to get rid of a player, without taking big cap hits from a player no longer on your roster. I hope they learned their lesson and become more responsible. It sure is nice to have cap space to play with for a change. It seemed in years past that every time a player that we wanted became available, we wouldn’t have enough cap space to sign them, so we either lost them to another team, or cut a player to make room, or ask multiple players to rework contracts to make the space available. The end result of doing this year after year, is a bunch of players who are long gone to another team, but still counting against our cap. This off season has been a breathe of fresh air in so many different ways. I hope it continues on for a few more years.
Hey, Randy. Cap responsibility is key. They say can bend the Cap like a pretzel, and you can, but at some point, it breaks and forces you to alter what’s good for the team. We need to sell players a year early than a year late and hold onto the right ones. I’m still not certain Flores is the right guy come gameday, but the philosophy is right on. I’m happy with the direction, even if it ends up a platform to another regime.