With new deal in place, Dolphins’ Howard has clear goals: A Super Bowl and ‘yellow jacket’
It’s not the first time Xavien Howard has entered the Dolphins facility in early spring to begin workouts in anticipation of another season. And it’s definitely not the first time the All-Pro cornerback has done so with a new head coach in place.
Though it’s only been a few days since the start of the team’s offseason workout program, which began Monday, Howard feels a shift in the atmosphere with the Dolphins, new coach Mike McDaniel and an offseason that has been full of change.
“Everything’s been different since I got here,” Howard, 28, said Wednesday, speaking for the first time since he signed a new five-year with the Dolphins. “The energy, everybody’s happy and I feel like a lot of things can be special here with Mike McDaniel. He’s bringing that energy and hopefully [he] can get the offense up to par to the standard that we expect from both sides of the ball, everybody can get the job done here.”
The Dolphins on Wednesday officially announced Howard’s new contract, which goes through the 2026 season. It adds two years to his previous deal and includes $50 million in new money. Last Saturday, the team traded wide receiver DeVante Parker to the New England Patriots, which now makes Howard, who was selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the team’s longest-tenured player — and one who has seen myriad coaching changes and roster overhaul in Miami.
In restructuring Howard’s deal — which his agent David Canter said was in the works for 15 months — the Dolphins’ front office kept its promise to revisit the contract after they found a short-term fix to his disgruntlement last summer.
“The whole process has been a great process,” Howard said. “I’m just excited to be a Dolphin and continue to play here, hopefully retire here and hopefully win a Super Bowl, too.”
Howard’s new deal was the latest domino in an active offseason for the Dolphins as they’ve worked tirelessly to rebuild the offense. The team’s biggest acquisition, the trade for wide receiver Tyreek Hill, reunites a pair of former Big 12 stars and 2016 draftmates.
“I feel like we’ll get each other better,” Howard said. “I played against him in college and also in the league, so I just want to focus on getting each other better.”
On defense, the Dolphins retained every starter from 2021 and Josh Boyer as defensive coordinator, keeping intact a unit that spearheaded the team’s 8-1 finish last season. Like previous years, the strength of the defense is expected to be in its secondary, with Howard as the focal point. It’s continuity Howard believes will serve the team well as it looks to build off last season’s 9-8 record.
“It’s exciting to have the defense back,” Howard said. “Especially going into our third year in the same defensive scheme, nothing changing — well some stuff will probably change but the main stuff that we talk about on the defensive side [doesn’t change].
“And especially the offense, I just told Mike McDaniel, I said, ‘Man I’ve got to get my [hamstrings] right.’ We’ve got a lot of speed over there. So, I’m excited about everything that’s going on around this building.”
With over three months until training camp starts and even longer until games that actually count, Howard wouldn’t get caught up in setting concrete expectations even as excitement around the team reaches a boil. Right now, the “buy-in” and getting younger players acclimated to changes with a new staff were at the forefront of his mind.
Howard did, however, quickly reflect on a “long journey” that included early-career injury setbacks, Pro Bowl honors and everything in between.
When he found out late last week that an agreement on a new deal was reached, he felt relief. Then reality kicked in.
“I thought, ‘S***, let’s go back to work. Let’s go,’” Howard said.
“I just try to keep a tunnel vision on myself and just keep my focus straight and continue doing the stuff I’ve been doing. And hopefully at the end when I’m done playing, I get that yellow jacket.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 2:49 PM.
