When there was talk about the Dolphins rebuilding this off season one of the things many speculated was that the Dolphins would not want to pay Xavien Howard but send him packing, maybe trade him for picks. When I read those reports/rumors it agitated me greatly, I wrote about that in the article Stop Letting Young Talent Get Away.
The Dolphins should be in the business of “collecting talent” not giving it away, there are quite a few players who are no longer on the team that I feel the Dolphins should have retained, one particular player was Jarvis Landry, to this day I still think the Dolphins should have kept Jarvis Landry because there was nobody who had a bigger heart and worked his butt off for the Dolphins, yeah he has a real quirky personality but he was a very good player for the team. Now he’s in Cleveland with his buddy Odell Beckham ready to set records.
Losing Landry would not have been as big of a deal as losing Xavien Howard because the Dolphins do have a wealth of receivers but a top notch CB in his mid 20’s is hard to find. Howard is the only corner back on this team that is proven, so it was a must that the Dolphins start their rebuild on the right track and locking down Xavien Howard was by far the right move to make going forward for many reasons.
That contract sends a message to the rest of the team that’s full of young talent with potential that if they do their job well they’re going to get paid and that the Dolphins are looking to take care of their own. Over the years they sent mixed messages, just recently with the way they handled Jarvis Landry, had they paid Landry I think it would have instilled confidence in other players. Having paid Xavien Howard well has driven home that fact that the Dolphins are going to take care of their own.
The Pro Bowl cornerback, who was drafted in the second round in 2016, has agreed to a five-year, $76.5 million extension with the Dolphins, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports. The deal, which is the longest extension for a cornerback, will include $46 million guaranteed and it will make Howard the highest-paid corner in the league…Sports Illustrated
Now it’s up to Xavien Howard to continue to grow and develop and improve, as for others on the roster they can see the Dolphins are serious about taking care of our own and their actions speaks volumes!
Players like Laremy Tunsil and Kenyan Drake who’s in year 4 of their rookie contracts and both are worthy of extensions because they are very good to potential pro bowl players that was drafted and developed by Miami.
After years of talk the Dolphins have finally walked the walk and hopefully the Xavien Howard contract is the beginning of recognizing our home grown talent and retaining them so we don’t have to see these young players in their prime moving on to play for other teams.
The Dolphin Seer 