I am speaking as a Dolphins fan, who aims for complete authenticity and accuracy…. With that in mind, this article may or may not be for you.
There is a reason why I personally don’t fall in love with players on my favorite teams. Because nothing lasts forever. Do I support those players and root for their success either with my favorite or somewhere else? Absolutely, because this is their livelihood at the end of their day, and if they left a positive impact on my favorite team, then I am cool with them for life. However, I do draw a line when someone displays poor judgment.
Enter Xavien Howard.
Obviously, I am very aware that when he switched agencies, he would probably ask for some variation of a raise. I personally had no problem with giving him a raise either. I also did not expect Miami to really entertain the idea considering he had four years left on his current contract. Giving Howard the benefit of the doubt, I figured that he would put a pin in it for later. If he out-performed his contract for a second consecutive season, he and the Dolphins would circle back after the season was over and potentially rework the deal. Then came his trade demand, which completely lacks any sort of self-awareness that also includes him pocket-watching his teammates, which is gross.
It would be one thing if the only thing he said was “I am not happy with my contract and would like a trade” instead of airing dirty laundry that he didn’t realize was his own.
For reference here is the tweet with his displeasures:
Didn’t Understand?
First, he tries to blame his current contract on the Dolphins using the “didn’t understand” excuse. In the real world, if someone signs a contract they don’t understand, that is their fault, not the other party. If there was something he didn’t understand it would be his responsibility to ask his representation to clarify. That’s what he pays them to do. This is some ways feels similar to Scottie Pippen’s contract problems. You can’t sign a contract and come back later saying “hey wait a minute this isn’t fair”.
Splitting Hairs
Next, he talks about playing on the deal for two years and out-performing his deal over that span. Which is false. He played five games in 2019, and did not play particularly well in those five games, and missed 11 games due to a knee injury–a common issue the first four years of his career. He only out-played that contract this past season and only that season.
Pocket-Watching His Teammates…
After that, he talks about how he’s the second-highest-paid corner on his team. Which is a weird way to spin when you’re the 5th highest paid corner in the league, according to Spotrac. It is also really upsetting to read that he’s pocket-watching his teammates, which you’re not really supposed to do as a professional athlete. Obviously he’s not aware that with the league generating more revenue every year. So, because of that records for the highest-paid players continues to rise and it changes every year. If being the highest-paid is his biggest priority then it’s his fault–not the Dolphins fault– he signed a five-year deal and not a one-year or two-year deal.
More Lack of Self-Awareness
Lastly, the fact he doesn’t feel respected or valued by the Dolphins. The fanbase rarely agrees on many things, but one thing that a majority have agreed is that the Dolphins bet on Howard when most wouldn’t have. I remember when he got his extension there was criticism from everyone.
The reason being that he had missed 13 games in three years due to knee issues and only had one productive season. He then missed the aforementioned 11 games the following season and was arrested for domestic battery. When you have a player who has missed 24 out of 64 games, only had one productive season, is making a ton of money, and then runs into legal issues, that generally is when teams jump ships. The Dolphins didn’t.
Did they have a backup plan by signing Byron Jones and drafting Noah Igbinoghene? Sure. But when all the legal stuff was settled he was still the team’s number one corner and made him off-limits when rumors once again surfaced at the midseason trade deadline this past season. To me, that sounds like they valued him a lot.
Conclusion
I get his frustrations. His contract is team-friendly in the sense that it is heavily incentive-based. But he struggled mightily with knee injuries which is why his contract makes sense. If he plays, he will perform like a top corner in the league and his pay will reflect that. If he can’t shake the knee injuries then the penalty for the Dolphins isn’t severe.
I would welcome Xavien back with open arms if he realized the errors of his ways. But considering he publicly criticized the Dolphins, more or less said that it’s disrespectful that Byron Jones makes more than him, and failed to recognize his own shortcomings I won’t hold my breath. It takes a lot for me to not root for some who has played for the Dolphins at some point. But Xavien when out and did it. It really is a shame…