Hyde: The Dolphins love Xavien Howard — but enough to pay him more? | Commentary

In any offseason, there’s this weird inversion. Players rightfully put themselves first. Their money. Their contracts. Their careers. It’s all them, them, them, as opposed to the in-season stated idea of team, team, team.

So it was left for Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores to send out a message Tuesday via a Zoom call with reporters to star cornerback, Xavien Howard, who skipped the start of minicamp to send his own message. He wants more money.

“We love X,” Flores said. “Let me say that right now. You guys make sure you write that. He’s very productive. He’s a team player. He’s an important player on this team. But‚ again, it’s a unique situation.”

And, again, it’s about money. Howard wants more. The Dolphins don’t want to give more. None of that means it is an overriding danger in June, especially if you look across the NFL landscape.

But there are underlying issues for Howard and the Dolphins that go beyond just hard dollars for this rebuild — this rebuilt, actually. Past tense. It’s done. This is the team. We’re out the rabbit hole this season.

The Dolphins need more Howards on this roster, too — more draft choices who develop into stars. That was the grand plan. The last thing they need is Minkah Fitzpatrick II. We’re not there. Howard is just skipping a minicamp that, let’s face it, won’t mean much come September if he’s back in the fold.

He hasn’t publicly requested a trade. He hasn’t said he isn’t buying into a defensive system that depends on him. He hasn’t said anything about not agreeing with his role that led to the All-Pro Fitzpatrick’s awful trade to Pittsburgh.

But all that’s the next, descending step if this situation isn’t resolved. And here’s the real problem in that resolution: Each side has fair and reasonable ideas as to why they’re right.

From the Dolphins side, they made Howard the richest cornerback in football two years ago with a five-year, $75 million extension. They bet big on him, considering Howard played 12 games or less in three of his five previous seasons due mostly to knee injuries.

Howard showed his worth last year in having the pass defense built around him, leading the league with 10 interceptions and being named All-Pro for the first time (he was second-team All-Pro in 2018).

So you see why with four years still left on that contract they want him to honor it rather than show they renegotiate deals so quickly, right?

From Howard’s side, the Dolphins made Byron Jones the richest cornerback last winter with a five-year, $82.5 million deal. That was part of an offseason where the Dolphins made it rain dumb, free-agent money in retrospect. Kyle Van Noy, Jordan Howard, Ereck Flowers, Shaq Lawson — the Dolphins got out from under their contracts after one year.

Jones remains. The Dolphins couldn’t exit his contract if they wanted without prohibitive costs. Jones is a nice player, too. But he’s not Howard. Jones needs more help on defense, doesn’t make as many game-changing plays and isn’t the guy other teams fear to throw against.

So you see why Howard doesn’t want to be the second-highest-paid cornerback on his team, right?

“It’s pretty clear this is a contract situation,” Flores said. “We talked about it internally. That’s what I believe it is. Obviously we’ve had discussions, and we’ll continue to have these discussions.”

Discussions are one thing. But will the Dolphins give more money? This is the exact time for Howard to demand it. June is the time business breaks out for real across the NFL.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is front and center because he’s a three-time league MVP and has publicly asked for a trade. But the more parallel case to the Dolphins is New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

Like Howard, Gilmore is a shutdown cornerback. Like Howard, he wants more money. Unlike Howard, he’s in the final year of a contract — and 31. Howard turns 28 in two weeks.

Missing minicamp isn’t much more than a public statement by Howard. But it’s a loud statement. Flores sent his return statement: “We love you.”

“Then pay me,” Howard is saying.

He’s on an island at cornerback in this defense built around him. Now he’s on one again in skipping minicamp. It will mean nothing come September. Or everything. All we know is money is the issue and NFL business is at work.