Dolphins general manager Chris Grier met with the South Florida media off the beaten path yesterday. While nearly every general manager and head coach took to the podiums yesterday in Indianapolis, Grier was cornered by a group of media elsewhere, where he proceeded to dish about Miami’s immediate plans.
One of the highlights, as featured by Adam Beasley at the Miami Herald, is that the Dolphins are very much planning on cornerback Xavien Howard being a centerpiece of this franchise in 2019.
“I’m very confident he’ll be (on the roster). He’s been in the building, working out and getting in shape again…just hanging around him, he wants to be a Miami Dolphin and we want him to be a Dolphin.”’
Good move. We highlighted Miami’s dilemma around paying Howard a few weeks ago here on the site. Keeping Howard for 2019 is the first step, but ultimately this is perfect timing for Miami to “set the market” on young talented players that they like.
Miami doesn’t have a lot of those, so it should be easy to identify them and ensure you can:
- Lock them in before they hit the open market. This prevents their market value from shooting through the roof.
- Front-load the guaranteed money. Miami is going to have low payroll for their gutted roster in 2019. If the Dolphins want to keep these guys long-term but build the roster, spend the guaranteed money now. Protect the team long-term and have flexibility if things go wrong.
- Identify franchise cornerstone players. The team needs a re-build. We know this. But by paying out your talented youth, you can bank on them being part of things as the team improves.
Keeping Xavien Howard is a wise move. Time will tell if Miami gets assertive and pushes him into his second contract prematurely, but it would be the move you should be rooting for.
