Miami Dolphins’ Flores said he doesn’t want to trade Howard, offers insight on situation
Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores said he does not want to trade Xavien Howard and progress is being made on resolving his contract situation.
Howard has asked for a trade because he wants his contract - which runs through 2024 — to be restructured with more money or more guaranteed money.
Flores was asked if there’s any scenario of Howard being traded or whether he definitely will be on the team.
“We don’t want to trade X,” Flores said. “Write that down. He’s a big part of the team. We don’t want to trade him.”
Howard has been out for seven practices with what has been termed by the team as a minor ankle injury. Flores made clear the injury is legitimate and he would participate in a walk-through on Friday and expects Howard to accompany the team to Chicago for joint practices with the Bears and a preseason game next week.
UPDATE: Howard is participating in a Friday walk-through practice and with the starters.
Flores said Howard “has been supportive of teammates, attentive in meetings. He’s dealing with an injury. He’s coaching guys up. He’s working on a daily basis to get back. When he gets back we will get him in there and get him working with teammates. He’s doing a nice job considering his situation.”
Flores said contract talks “are progressing” with Howard, who had 10 interceptions last season.
Asked if he has discussed the contract situation with Howard, Flores said: “I talk to X every day and every conversation is productive. Got into specifics... and it has been productive and moving in the right direction. We would like to keep talking to him and his representation. We want these things to happen quickly. Some things take time. Hopefully we’ll come to the best resolution for all sides.”
Asked if other teams have called asking to trade for him (they have, per sources), Flores said: “We keep all that internal. Calls we make, calls teams make to us. It’s common courtesy not to talk about what other people are talking about.”
Has Flores addressed his players about Howard?
“They’re very supportive of X. He’s a very good teammate. Relationships that have been built [are strong]. He’s supportive of his teammates and does a good job in meetings. He’s supportive of everyone, offense and defense and special teams.”
With regard to contract talks, Flores said: “These things take time. As long as lines of communication are open and everyone is willing to compromise we can get something done.”
Flores smiled when asked if he and general manager Chris Grier have discussed making a concession to Howard monetarily just to make the problem go away.
Flores addressed other issues during his Friday news conference:
▪ Flores said one assistant coach would remain out for Friday’s practice. That’s believed to be George Godsey, the co-offensive coordinator who reportedly has COVID-19. He has been out since Monday.
▪ On cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, who has had an uneven camp: “We’re all developing. There’s always something you can improve and get better at. That’s the case with Noah. He’s doing all the right things in the meetings and walk-throughs. [You] believe in the techniques and fundamentals and over time he will have success. And make incremental improvements on a daily basis.”
▪ Flores said injured Will Fuller, Jaelan Phillips and Andrew Van Ginkel remain “day-to-day. All are getting better. They want to be out there. They will get out there as soon as we can.”
Fuller has a foot issue, Phillips a lower-body issue and Van Ginkel an injury that caused him to walk with a slight limp this week.
(PRACTICE UPDATE: Fuller and Mike Gesicki — who’s on the COVID list — were not spotted at Friday’s walk-through. Andrew Van Ginkel is participating. Phillips is present but not participating.)
Of the two injured running backs, Flores said Salvon Ahmed “was a little banged up. We expect him back at some point back in the near future. Malcolm [Brown] is day-to-day also.”
Ahmed has a lower-body bruise. Brown’s injury hasn’t been disclosed.
▪ On guard Solomon Kindley, who has been working with the third team: “There’s a lot of competition in that room. Solomon has worked with the ones, twos and threes. It doesn’t matter what group you’re with. Alignment, techniques, fundamentals, are you doing the right things? That’s what we’re looking for. It doesn’t matter what group [you’re in].”
Flores isn’t ready to settle on an offensive line just yet, though he said “chemistry” is very important.
“At some point, we will narrow this down to five, six, seven, eight guys. There will always be some moving parts. We all like to say, it’s five guys, let them play and let them work. We’ve got to get some other guys in there, too. If you want to see the same guys [weeks] in a row, that’s not going to happen. That’s not the best thing for the group. We’re going to narrow it down to six, seven, eight guys at some point.”
▪ On guard Durval Quieroz Neto, who’s in his third year with the team: “He’s developing. Having a nice camp. Roughly two years training on the offensive line. He’s made steady improvements. This guy is big, strong, athletic, fast. It’s the football acumen, techniques, fundamentals, he’s made significant improvements over the past two years. Technique is better. We’ll continue to see if he continues on the trajectory he’s on and try to build on it. He’s off to a good start.”
▪ On rookie safety Jevon Holland: “He’s doing a nice job. We’re asking a lot out of him, multiple positions. It’s not necessarily the interception [he had on Wednesday]. It’s getting guys lined up, communication with the corners, with the linebackers, down and distance. There’s a lot that goes it. He’s taken on that responsibility and being very forthright and trying to do a good job of taking on that leadership which is hard for a rookie. He’s getting better. Still a long way to go.”
CORNERS AUDITION
The Dolphins auditioned four cornerbacks Thursday: Lafayette Pitts, Trevor Williams, K.J. Sails and Alexander Myres.
Williams has the most NFL experience: 41 games and 28 starts for the Chargers, Cardinals and Eagles; he has three career interceptions.
Pitts appeared in eight games for the Dolphins in 2016 and appeared in 40 NFL games overall (no starts) but hasn’t played in the league since 2018.
Sails played three seasons at North Carolina and two at USF before going undrafted 16 months ago.
Myres has appeared in one NFL game — for Detroit last season.
UPDATE: Jason McCourty, who was a first-team cornerback for the first time in camp Wednesday, is back at free safety Friday. The Dolphins were off Thursday.... Justin Coleman was the first-team slot cornerback as usual, with Nik Needham behind him.
One roster move was made Friday: The Dolphins signed long snapper Rex Sunhara as insurance in case Blake Ferguson is injured.
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 12:22 PM.
