In just over three weeks, the Miami Dolphins will open training camp for the 2020 season ahead — and with it face the prospect of building upon a promising “foundation” year. The Dolphins surprised everyone last season with a 5-4 stretch to finish the year and promptly followed suit by nailing down one of the most prolific college quarterbacks in recent history, plus a slew of new faces to add to the team.
The Dolphins will hold camp this year with fan enthusiasm as high as it has been in quite some time. But amid the restrictions of this offseason due to the ongoing health crisis, can the Dolphins rise to the challenge? We’ll be taking a look at each position group for the Dolphins ahead of the start of training camp and exploring which storylines are most pressing to monitor as Miami looks to improve in Year 2 under Brian Flores.
Here are the Dolphins’ key storylines in training camp amid the cornerback group.
Can Byron Jones create more turnovers in Miami?
For a brief moment this spring, Byron Jones was the highest paid cornerback in all of football. He took the title from Xavien Howard, of all people, before the Philadelphia Eagles traded for CB Darius Slay and provided him with a contract extension that boosted his pay above that of Miami’s new, prized defender. And make no mistake — Jones is one of the stickiest press-man corners in all of football. He makes sense from an age, scheme and positional value perspective.
But with just two interceptions to this point in his career, Miami will certainly hope that Jones finds the football more in South Florida. Given what he’s now being paid, a few momentum swinging turnovers each season shouldn’t necessarily be unreasonable to ask of Jones. How he sets the tone in year one with the Dolphins will be a big key to watch.
How quickly can rookie Noah Igbinoghene lock down the starting nickel role?
Igbinoghene’s arrival comes with the expectation that he’ll be a high caliber player — this is a first round pick, after all. But how quickly we’ll see Igbinoghene in the starting lineup is a different story, mainly because cornerback Nik Needham is not likely to go quietly into the night. The 2019 rookie defender impressed down the stretch for the Dolphins despite playing with a slew of waiver wire additions and street free agents; so he has some sweat equity with the Dolphins coaches that may be difficult to shake early on.
Igbinoghene is more athletic and has plenty more upside. But can he be the better option right away?
Can Xavien Howard play a full 16-game season?
Howard has been an absolute ballhawk on the field for the Dolphins — when he’s been on the field. And, unfortunately for Miami, that hasn’t been often enough as of late. The former Baylor defender has missed 15 of his last 20 possible contests and continues to battle with ongoing knee issues that have been a problem since his rookie season. Howard cashed in a massive contract last summer after leading the NFL in interceptions despite missing the final 4 games of the 2018 season; but Miami structured that contract in such a way that moving on wouldn’t be financially devastating — Miami could trade Howard next spring and save nearly $7M on the salary cap.
This isn’t to say Howard shouldn’t be considered a long-term fixture for the team. But if knee injuries continue to force him off the field, Miami may deem their depth at the position to allow them to go in a more economical direction. Let’s hope Howard stays healthy this season and removes any doubt.
