Dolphins star Xavien Howard demands trade, doesn't 'feel valued, or respected'

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Xavien Howard wants out of Miami.

The Dolphins star cornerback released a statement on Tuesday night requesting a trade from the team that took him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Howard, a first-team All-Pro selection in 2020, said that he doesn’t "feel valued, or respected by the Dolphins."

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"I’ve given by heart and soul to the Miami Dolphins franchise since they drafted me in 2016, and want to make it clear that I love my teammates," Howard said in the statement. "They are my family. But what I’ve learned is that the business side of the NFL proves organizations don’t always have player’s best interest at heart."

Howard, who signed a five-year, $75.25 million contract extension with the Dolphins in 2019, led the NFL with 10 interceptions last season. Last year, the team signed fellow cornerback Byron Jones to an even larger contract (five-year, $82.5 million), and it didn’t sit well with Howard.

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"I’m one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, and the tape backs up that claim," Howard noted. "The assignments I’m given, shadowing the opposition’s best player with little help, proves my value, my worth. Yet, I’m the second highest paid cornerback on my own team, and it’s not even close."

Howard added that he and his agent David Canter never asked for a completely new contract.

"We wanted things to work out with the Dolphins, and brought solutions to the table -- like guaranteeing more money -- that we felt were win-wins for both sides," Howard continued. "These were proposals of adjustments that wouldn’t just make me feel more respected, but were also cap friendly. But the Dolphins refused everything we proposed.

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"That is why I don’t feel the organization has dealt with me in good faith… Just like they can take a business-first approach, so can I. That’s why I want to make it clear that I’m not happy, and have requested a trade.

"Until that trade happens I am just here so I don’t get fined, and will handle myself like professionals do."

Howard, who played college football at Baylor, is a two-time Pro Bowler. He led the NFL in interceptions in 2018 and 2020 and has 22 total interceptions in his career.