INDIANAPOLIS — The Miami Dolphins appear likely to appease any concerns Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard may have with his contract this offseason.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis he has already had multiple conversations with Howard since the end of the 2021 season.
“I’ve had multiple talks with Xavien this offseason,” Grier said. “Had some texts back and forth. We’re going to have conversations and see if we can come to some sort of resolution. My anticipation is that Xavien will be here next year.”
Last offseason, Howard reached a point where he demanded a trade from the organization amid a contract dispute with the team. Although he still had four years remaining on his six-year, $77.2 million deal negotiated in 2019, he and the Dolphins added 2021 incentives that got his fully guaranteed figure for the season to $12,785,294 and the maximum he could earn with incentives to $16,285,294.
The restructure kicked the can down the road, but still allowing for the same issues to remain heading into this offseason.
Grier said, however, there was a pledge from the organization back then to come back around and address it.
“We had made the promise to him,” Grier said. “After the season, we’ll make the adjustment: ‘We’ll look at it, play through the season, get us to the third year of the deal and then we’ll look at it, talk about it.’ Just to be truthful with him and do it, that’s the right thing to do. If he wants to come back and play on the deal, we would, but we know that’s not the case.”
After the Dolphins signed fellow cornerback Byron Jones in the 2020 offseason, Jones was set to make $16 million more than Howard between the 2020 and 2021 seasons before adding the guarantees and incentives for 2021.
Howard had a league-leading 10 interceptions in 2020 and was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. In 2021, Howard had five interceptions, two forced fumbles, a pair of fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns.
Settling Howard’s deal will be a focal point in the next month as the Dolphins look to maneuver with a league-leading $60 million in cap space for free agency that begins on March 16.
“I think it provides opportunities for us to do a lot of different things, whether it’s free agency, trades and stuff,” Grier said about the flexibility. “We’re also not living year to year. We’re trying to also have some perspective.
“The opportunity to add good players, we’ve always been that way. We’ve always pursued and tried to do it. So, we’ll be aggressive still. If the right player, if [coach Mike McDaniel] and I feel the right player [is available] for us to help us get better and keep us moving forward, we’ll go after him. … That doesn’t mean we’ll spend every cent right up to it because I think that leads you to not being able to do moves in season.”
Topping the list on moves with their own free agents before the Dolphins delve deep into free agency is what they’ll do with defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and tight end Mike Gesicki.
“I would say we’ve probably had more discussions with Drew than Ogbah,” Grier said. “Those are going on all throughout the course of the season. ... We know what [Ogbah] is. He’s a good guy, good player, good person, fits all the criteria we’re looking for. He’s done a nice job for us the last two years. … Mike knows how I feel about him. I drafted him and have had separate conversations with Mike. We’ve had limited talks with his agents.
“As it got to the end of the season with free agency, both of those guys get to this point, they want to be able to see what their options are. They both told us they want to be back in Miami. They both love it here. They want to be back. We’ll see what happens.”
Grier also acknowledged that Gesicki struggles with the blocking aspect of his game while excelling as a pass-catching tight end.
One of the two between Gesicki and Ogbah could be kept in Miami by use of the franchise tag.
“I think all options are open,” Grier said. “With the coaching staff coming in, we’re just giving them the opportunity to look at the players and evaluate the guys we potentially might tag, but I think we have to leave all options on the table for us. That could be a potential move for us.”
'Door is shut' on Watson
Grier voiced a commitment to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in his Wednesday comments while shutting down the team’s previous pursuit of Houston Texans’ elite but troubled quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“I think the door is shut on Deshaun,” Grier said. “At the end of the day, Mike and the staff have come to do a lot of work and studied a lot of Tua and they feel good about his developmental upside, what he can be and then the fit in the offense. I think we’re good with Tua.”
“I can’t say he can’t be,“ Grier said. “It’s in a situation now where this will be built around his skill set and what the offense can be and Mike’s vision of how he fits. So, I wouldn’t say he can’t be. It’s too early.
“I know people want to say he doesn’t throw the ball downfield, but he’s incredibly accurate, and that’s the real exciting part for Mike and the coaching staff, his accuracy.”
On Payton, Brady report
Grier also addressed a recent Pro Football Talk report that said the Dolphins were interested in pursuing a combination of Sean Payton as coach and Tom Brady as quarterback.
Grier set the record straight, saying the Dolphins never looked into Brady, but they did inquire about Payton as coach as he was retiring.
“I reached out to New Orleans a couple days after just to see, ‘Is he done with football or does he want to coach?’ I don’t know what’s going on over there. And they just told us no, they weren’t going to grant permission. So that was it.
“We’ve always been, since I’ve been here, aggressive looking at options and he’s one of the best coaches in football and we were still in the middle of our interviewing process. We stopped to see if he would have interest at all. So, I don’t even know if he would have interest.” ...
— Grier declined to comment on Wednesday about the lawsuit filed by former coach Brian Flores.
