Dolphins star CB Xavien Howard requests to be traded after reporting for first day of training camp

Xavien Howard showed up for work Tuesday morning strictly to avoid the NFL’s $50,000 a day fine players are now subjected to for holding out.

But that doesn’t mean his issues with the Miami Dolphins are over.

“I’m just here so I don’t get fined,” Howard wrote in a statement on social media Tuesday night about his contract dispute, which motivated him to skip the offseason program and the mandatory minicamp in June.

His absence during the offseason workouts led to a loss of over $119,000 for forfeiting his $25,000 workout bonus, and being fined $94,000 by the team for missing the mandatory practices.

But the message seems to be more important than the money to Howard, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate last season after he pulled down a league-leading 10 interceptions.

“I want to make it clear I’m not happy, and have requested a trade,” Howard told the South Florida Sun Sentinel Tuesday.

At the root of Howard’s issue is the six-year, $77.2 million extension he signed in 2019, which included the final year of his rookie deal.

At the time Howard signed the contract he was one of the five highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL, pulling in $12.8 million a season.

But since he signed the contract in 2018, five cornerbacks have gotten bigger, more substantial deals, and one of them happens to be Howard’s teammate, cornerback Byron Jones, who the Dolphins signed to a five-year deal worth $82.5 million last offseason.

Jones, who was guaranteed $46 million by the Dolphins, will earn $16 million more than Howard over the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

“I’m one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, and the tape backs up that claim,” Howard said. “The assignments I’m given, shadowing the opposition’s best cornerback with little help, proves my value. My worth. Yet, I’m the second highest paid cornerback on my own team, and it’s not even close.”

When reached by the Sun Sentinel, the Dolphins declined to comment on Howard’s trade request.

Before requesting a trade, Howard and his agent David Canter had multiple meetings and conversations with Miami’s top brass about re-working the deal this summer with the goal of getting more guaranteed money.

“We wanted things to work out with the Dolphins, and brought solutions to the table — like guaranteeing more money — that we felt were win-wins for both sides," Howard added. “These were proposals of adjustments that wouldn’t just make me feel more respected, but were also cap friendly. But the Dolphins refused everything we proposed.

“That’s why I don’t feel the organization has dealt with me in good faith. I don’t feel valued, or respected by the Dolphins. Just like they can take a business-first approach, so can I.”

The last player who requested a trade, and was granted one, from the Dolphins was defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was moved to the Steelers in the early portion of the 2019 season for a 2020 first-round pick that turned into left tackle Austin Jackson, and a swap of fourth-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks in 2020 and 2021.

Fitzpatrick turned into a Pro Bowl safety in Pittsburgh, with the Steelers getting the better end of that deal so far.

Last year the New York Jets traded Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for two first-round picks (2021, 2022) and a third-round pick (2021).

Whether the Dolphins can get that kind of bounty for Howard, who is seeking an adjustment in his contract, remains unclear.

Even though Howard has pulled down 22 interceptions in his five seasons, he’s also battled knee issues for three of those years. But Howard feels the last surgical procedure he had addressed those issues.

NFL teams have been aware of the Howard-Dolphins saga going back to last season, and last year Miami made it clear it wasn’t interested in trading Howard.

The Dolphins do have in-house options to replace Howard if he were eventually traded.

Along with Jones, they drafted Noah Igbinoghene with the 30th pick in the 2020 NFL draft, and even though the former Auburn standout struggled as a rookie Miami’s coaches think he’s ready for his role to be elevated.

Miami also added Jason McCourty, a 14-year veteran, and Justin Coleman, a seven-year veteran, this offseason in free agency, and Nik Needham and Jamal Perry have spent the past two seasons developing in Miami’s scheme.