Dolphins coach Brian Flores discusses status of Xavien Howard, Malcolm Perry and more
Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores addressed several issues before Miami’s second practice in pads on Tuesday:
▪ Flores was non-committal about whether Xavien Howard would be ready for the start of the season. Howard had knee surgery last December - more serious than simple arthroscopic surgery, according to a source — and on Tuesday entered his seventh day on the COVID-19 list.
Asked if he’s preparing as if he has to start the season without Howard, Flores said yes. But he did not rule out him being ready for the Sept. 10 opener at New England.
“There’s a lot of competition at that position with Byron [Jones], Noah [Igbinhoghene], Nik Needham to Jamal Perry to Tae Hayes to Ken Webster,” Flores said. “We are kind of focused on the guys who are here. Xavien is one of our top players; we’re hoping to get him back as soon as we can. As of right now, we’re working without him. As far as the season goes, we’re taking it one day at a time. When he comes back it may be a different conversation.”
Before being placed on the PUP list (physically unable to perform list), Howard posted video of himself working out at the Dolphins facility.
▪ Flores likes what he has seen in rookie seventh-rounder Malcolm Perry, who is being trained at slot receiver and also might get some work at running back.
“He’s got good quickness, good hands,” Flores said. “He’s an instinctive player, got good feel for the game. He’s a college quarterback. The receiver, running back position are all different. We’re asking him to do a few different things. The techniques, fundamentals playing at this level for a rookie against a high level competition [is challenging].
“Getting used to the speed of the game, that’s kind of what he’s going through. So far, he’s done a good job. But we’ve got a long way to go in a short amount of time. He loves to play, loves to compete. There are a lot of things we like about him. There’s a lot of competition in the wide receiver room as well.”
▪ On new safety Kavon Frazier, Flores said: “Kavon, got him as a free agent from Dallas. Has some experience in this league, has some potential to provide leadership He’s tough, fast, had a lot of production in the kicking game. I liked him coming out of college [Central Michigan in 2016]. Smart. He’s done a good job thus far. Physical player. Right now, we’re working a lot of guys in a lot of different groups, trying to find the right combination of players. He’s shown up positively so far in the OTAs and walk throughs and one padded practice. I’m happy where he’s at.”
Frazier appeared in 44 games and started two for Dallas. He’s competing with Brandon Jones and Clayton Fejedelem for what likely will be the No. 3 and 4 safety jobs.
▪ Flores credited new defensive coordinator Josh Boyer for the decision to move Eric Rowe from cornerback to safety last season — a move that worked out splendidly. Rowe said he will be a safety moving forward.
“Eric is a team guy,” Flores said, adding his shift to safety “wasn’t my decision. It was Josh Boyer’s idea.
“It was something he thought would be good fit for Eric. He’s coached Eric, has spent a lot of time with him. It wasn’t a thought I had. He played corner his entire career. I thought it was an interesting move, so we made it. There were some bumps early on, Eric worked at it, watched a lot of film, improved over the course of last season.
“He’s still pretty new at his position. You can see some growth there, even in these early stages of training camp. From a communication standpoint, playing corner and safety are very different. He does a lot of good things. Hopefully we can build on some of the things he did a year ago and continue to improve the fundamentals and techniques of tackling at the safety position. We’re pleased with Eric.”
▪ Did Dolphins players return in good condition?
“There’s always room for improvement, but by and large, most of these guys came in in fairly good condition,” Flores said. “There are some guys who need some extra conditioning and need to work on it. For the most part, I think these guys are working. They were working in their garages, wherever they could in the quarantine. But we’ve got a long way to go. This will be their least amount of practice for an [entire] rookie class in NFL history. As far as putting extra work in, I think our guys have done that.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 9:18 AM.
