Just In: Dolphins All-Pro Landed With Cowboys in Free Agency.

avien Howard was released by the Miami Dolphins this offseason, allowing the All-Pro cornerback to hit the market at 30 years old. Howard, who played in the fewest games of his career in 2023, could make an impact for a contending team as a veteran. Of the potential landing spots, Zack Cook of SportsGrid predicts the Dallas Cowboys will sign Howard.

Cook questions if Howard can return to being a lockdown corner in 2024, a fair question after allowing the highest completion percentage of his career in seasons he played more than five games in.

“Xavien Howard was released by the Miami Dolphins this offseason. Howard’s health was a question mark in 2023, but we know what he’s capable of when he’s on the field. Did he lose a step, or can he return to being a lockdown corner in 2024? The talent didn’t go anywhere, but we know what can happen when a defender loses a step.”

Why the Dolphins Released Howard

The Miami Dolphins released Howard to create cap space. Releasing Howard saved $18.5 million on the salary cap by making his release a post-June 1 designation.

Howard expected it to happen, according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com.

“I was expecting it to happen,” he said. “In this business you know how it goes. You feel it. Eight years here, and I’ve seen the business side of it so many times. … Me and my agent talked about it before we signed our last deal that that’s how it was gonna happen, and it ended up happening. I wasn’t surprised at all.”

The Dolphins already found their replacement in Kendall Fuller, a Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs who most recently for with the Washington Commanders.

Fuller signed a two-year deal worth $15 million, so the deal also saved the Dolphins money.

How Howard Would Help the Cowboys

While Howard has dealt with injuries during his time with the Miami Dolphins, he’s still a four-time Pro Bowl selection and finished top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2020. In that 2020 season, Howard led the league in interceptions with 10, two seasons after leading the league with seven.

The Dallas Cowboys or any team that signs him would hope to get half of that, but Howard has just two interceptions in the past two seasons combined.

Matthew Lenix of Blogging The Boys writes that the Cowboys can show they’re all in by pursuing Howard.

Jerry Jones, the team’s owner, claims that things have changed a little in recent times. Despite yet another early playoff exit, Jones has maintained head coach Mike McCarthy, and the team is “all in” for the 2024 campaign. Well, they can demonstrate it by going for Xavien Howard, one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL.Lenix adds that it’s unclear how long it will take Trevon Diggs to fully recover from his ACL injury.

“Trevon Diggs will return to the Cowboys for the upcoming season, but it’s unclear how long it will take him to fully recover from his ACL tear—a year will have passed by then.”