The Miami Dolphins have had a busy offseason bringing in talent. On Friday, they stayed busy by keeping one of their top players.
Field Yates of ESPN reported that the Dolphins and cornerback Xavien Howard have agreed to a contract extension. As part of it, he’ll make more guaranteed money than any cornerback in NFL history.
Dolphins CB Xavien Howard has agreed to a new 5-year deal with $50,691,177 in new money. As part of the deal, he gets the most guaranteed money for a CB in NFL history.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 1, 2022
Howard is one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks. He’s made three Pro Bowls (2018, 2020, 2021), been selected First-team All-Pro once (2020), Second-team All-Pro another time (2018) and has led the NFL in interceptions twice (2018, 2020).
Because of that, plenty of Dolphins fans were happy to learn that he’ll be around for a while.
I'm old enough to remember when Xavien Howard requested a trade. 😅
Happy for him AND happy to have him. #FinsUp
— Fineous (@fineous15) April 1, 2022
Xavien Howard is going to be a Dolphin for a while.
Key piece to the defense, Miami is ready to go. https://t.co/U4IzLPwgTM
— 3rd & Juan (@3rdnJuan) April 1, 2022
YESSSSSIRRRR WE KEEPING OUR BEST PLAYER🙌🏽👏🏽 https://t.co/WJjSh7ZCMv
— 🇼🇸SA_685___🇦🇸 (@RomanSoldiers20) April 1, 2022
Worth every penny https://t.co/gaxSIDv73I
— Eric 🐀 (@FinsVicious) April 1, 2022
That was one reaction. But it was not the only one. While Howard has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL for a while, he’ll be 29 when the 2022 season starts. That’s not young in NFL terms, especially for a cornerback.
With that in mind, some fans were not convinced that the deal is a good one.
Must be an April fools joke cause he ain’t worth that money https://t.co/9Yx9QPo21G
— Kevin⚡️ (@KevinZuniga6) April 2, 2022
Yikes https://t.co/S0gNdTu6ca
— Dan Scaravailoa (@DScarano11) April 1, 2022
He doesn’t have 5 more good years left https://t.co/dyoWUmjAak
— TrashTalkFins (@adtfins) April 1, 2022
28 years old with several lower body/knee injuries. Great player, but the Dolphins have gone all in on several 28 year old + players to insane guarantees and term… https://t.co/nIPcCqo62f pic.twitter.com/t5mzMG8DYJ
— Nate Geary (@NateGearySports) April 1, 2022
While it’s a five-year deal, ultimately the next two or three years will be what matters.
If he plays poorly, the next five years will feel like an eternity for the Dolphins and their fans.
But if the early part of the contract goes well, chances are good that it will be worth it. There is a strong likelihood that Howard will show some signs of regression in the final years of the deal. But if the early years go well — particularly if team success follows — it will go a long way to stem the sting of any regression.
