Cornerback Xavien Howard has not landed with a team since being released by the Dolphins in March and he took a step to help his bid to find a new home this month.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that Howard’s doctor sent a letter to NFL teams telling them that the veteran corner is cleared for all football activities. Howard dealt with a foot injury at the end of the 2023 season and missed Miami’s final two games.
The Dolphins released Howard with a post-June 1 designation in order to save more money under the cap. He called going home to Houston to play for the Texans a “realistic option” for him in March, but there’s been no further sign that the AFC South team is in the mix for his services.
With the draft about to happen, it seems likely that Howard’s eventual suitor will be a team that misses out on cornerback help this week
The Dolphins did select a quarterback in that 2008 draft, but they did it in the second round with their third selection that year — they took defensive end Phillip Merling at the top of Round 2 — when they took Chad Henne from Michigan, the same school that produced Jake Long.
It was a Bill Parcells move through and through, going with the potential franchise left tackle over a quarterback who wasn’t viewed as a prospect in the same line as a Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck, to name just two.
The Dolphins’ decision paid off in the short term because they made a remarkable turnaround in the first year under Parcells and head coach Tony Sparano, improving 10 games to win the AFC East title after they landed QB Chad Pennington as a free agent in August.
But that would be the only season they would make the playoffs with Long, who made the Pro Bowl his first four seasons but then fell victim to knee issues that sidetracked his career.
In the meantime, Ryan became a 15-year NFL starter and he also was selected to the Pro Bowl four times. He did, however, win NFL MVP honors in 2016 when he led the Falcons to the Super Bowl under a coaching staff that included Mike McDaniel.
