Dolphins Planning to Release Howard

Howard is the longest-tenured player on the Miami Dolphins roster

The Miami Dolphins will be moving on from their longest-tenure player on their roster.

The team has informed cornerback Xavien Howard he will be released at the start of the new league year March 13.

Howard, as expected, will be designated as a post-June 1 cut, which will save the Dolphins $18.5 million in cap space, according to overthecap.com.

"The one thing I've always known is the NFL is a business," Howard said. "It was a hell of a ride and I'm appreciative to the Dolphins for everything. This ain't stopping nothing. I'll be back and better."

Howard was set to count almost $26 million against the cap, but now the Dolphins only will be responsible for $7.4 million of dead space based on prorated bonus money.

Without a post-June 1 designation, Howard's release would have saved only $2.8 million against the cap with $23 million in dead money.

The only drawback to the post-June 1 designation is that the Dolphins won't be able to use the cap space they created until then.

Howard had three years left on his most recent extension, which was done in the 2022 offseason, but had no guaranteed money left.

Howard did have $7 million in bonuses and base salary that was set to become due and guaranteed March 15.

Howard could see the writing on the wall by the end of the 2023 season, judging by his comments to the media two days after the playoff loss at Kansas City.

“It’s up in the air," Howard said then. "At the end of the day it’s a business also. My eight years here, I’ve made the best of it. If this year is the last year and I have to say goodbye to some of the guys here I understand. It’s a part of the business. No matter where I go, I’m still going to do my thing.”

Footwork drills with Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard. Efficiency in and out of the break pic.twitter.com/xdUQMZYjby

— DB Tips (@dbtips101) February 21, 2024

HOWARD ALREADY ON HIS WAY BACK

Earlier this week, Howard was back on the football field training, seemingly showcasing that the left foot injury that prematurely ended his 2023 season is healthy enough for him to pass a physical.

In an Instagram story posted Monday, Howard used a short video clip of musician Usher with a message that seemingly applied to his present situation.

“Sometimes you got to leave," Usher says. "Sometimes you have to go away from home in order to be truly valued and appreciated and maybe find yourself. Sometimes in the wilderness you'll find something valuable and you come back and you can really enjoy it.”