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Dolphins Notebook: Howard's DPOY Odds, Tua Goes for Two, and More

Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard is now among the betting favorites for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award

Alain Poupart

In case it wasn't crystal clear before, Xavien Howard absolutely is among the leading candidates for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.

The latest odds from BetOnline.ag actually have him as the third-favorite to win the award behind only Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt.

Howard's odds are listed at 4/1, compared to Donald's 2/3 and Watt's 3/1. Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is the fourth-favorite at 5/1.

Howard, of course, leads the NFL in interceptions with nine, the most for any player in the league since 2012 when Chicago cornerback Tim Jennings also had nine.

When it comes to other individual awards, the odds for Brian Flores and Tua Tagovailoa got longer this week.

Flores' odds to win the AP Coach of the Year award went from 3/1 to 9/2 after the 33-27 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs and he slipped to third among the favorites. Washington coach Ron Rivera moved from fourth place to favorite at 2/1.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who had a long run as the favorite, now is second at 9/4.

For the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Tua Tagovailoa's odds went from 18/1 to 33/1 despite having the first 300-yard passing game of his NFL career. He's the third-favorite behind Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Herbert, who led the Chargers to a 20-17 victory against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, is an even more overwhelming favorite, moving from 1/3 to 1/8. Jefferson is listed at 9/2.

TUA TIME AGAIN

Back to Tua, he's going to have a chance this week to repeat as Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Rookie of the Week.

Tagovailoa is a finalist again after passing for 316 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another score in the Dolphins' 33-27 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.

He won last week for his performance in the 19-7 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Tagovailoa's competition this week includes running backs Jonathan Taylor of the Colts and Cam Akers of the Rams, defensive end Chase Young of the Washington Football Team, and quarterback Jalen Hurts of the Eagles.

Fans can vote for the winner at nfl.com/voting/rookies. The winner will be announced late in the week.

PRACTICE SQUAD MOVES

Wide receiver Andre Patton was re-signed to the practice squad Tuesday, one day after he was released.

The move came on the same day rookie wide receiver Kirk Merritt was placed on the practice squad COVID-19 list. The Dolphins have three players from the active roster on the Reserve/COVID-19 list: running backs Myles Gaskin and Matt Breida, and cornerback Jamal Perry.

Also on Tuesday, the Dolphins announced their practice squad protections for this week and they're the same names as they have been: TE Chris Myarick, QB Reid Sinnett and LS Rex Sunahara.

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD UPDATE

The NFL announced Tuesday the eight finalists for the 2020 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, and the list does not include the Dolphins' nominee, linebacker Kyle Van Noy.

The eight finalists are Carolina QB Teddy Bridgewater, Baltimore DE Calais Campbell, Tampa Bay LB Lavonte David, Pittsburgh DT Cameron Heyward, Indianapolis DE Justin Houston, San Francisco FB Kyle Juszczyk, Philadelphia C Jason Kelce and New England WR Matthew Slater.

BAKER SACKS MAHOMES AGAIN

It was one of the strangest plays of the NFL season, so it's no surprise that Jerome Baker's 30-yard sack of Patrick Mahomes continues to be a topic of conversation.

After Mahomes responded to a conversation about his unique try to outrun Baker to get out of the pocket by joking that the strategy works in the Madden video game, Baker chimed in on Twitter.

"Maybe next time MaHomieee," Baker tweeted with wink and laughing emojis.

The sack set a new Dolphins record for yardage, breaking the record of 28 yards set by Emmanuel Ogbah earlier this season.

TUA THE 'CARD DEALER'

Tagovailoa went out for passes on two options plays against the Chiefs after wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. got the ball, though he was not targeted as Bowden pulled down the ball one time and then threw an incomplete pass in the direction of DeAndre Washington on the other.

That prompted a reporter to ask wide receivers coach Josh Grizzard about Tua's pass-catching ability at practice.

"He does a great job of it," Grizzard said, laughing. "We've just got to put it in the right area for him. We’ve got to lead him out there. No, he’s got good hands. He’s a card dealer back there when he gets it from center, so I’m sure he can catch the passes well.”

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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