Dolphins Agree To Restructure CB Xavien Howard’s Deal

According to Mike Garafolo, the Dolphins have agreed to restructure CB Xavien Howard‘s deal to resolve his issues with the team. 

Ian Rapoport says Howard received a $1 million Pro Bowl incentive and $3.5 million in additional incentives in 2021, as well as having all minicamp fines rescinded. 

There had been speculation Howard could be traded if he and the team couldn’t reach a compromise, but Dolphins HC Brian Flores made it clear the team didn’t view that as an option. 

Howard had been interested in reworking his current five-year, $75 million deal that still has four years remaining. Howard signed an extension in 2019 that at the time made him the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback at just over $15 million a year.

Since then, however, five other players have jumped past Howard, including fellow Dolphins CB Byron Jones, and the current bar is $20 million a year for Rams CB Jalen Ramsey. 

Howard has been a legitimate candidate for defensive player of the year the past two seasons and used that performance to leverage a raise. 

Howard, 28, is a former second-round pick of the Dolphins back in 2016. He was in the final year of his four-year, $6,128,038 rookie deal and set to make a base salary of $1,285,641 for the 2019 season when he agreed to a five-year, $76.5 million extension that included $46 million guaranteed with Miami.

Howard is set to make base salaries of $12.075 and $12.375 million over the next two seasons. 

In 2020, Howard appeared in all 16 games for the Dolphins and recorded 51 tackles, one forced fumble, 10 interceptions and 20 pass defenses. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 2 corner out of 121 qualifying players.