Phins extend X Howard and sign a new RT

Busy day for the Phins yesterday:

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article230241449.html

The Dolphins have agreed to a five-year contract with Xavien Howard that will make him the highest paid cornerback in NFL history, his agent told The Miami Herald on Thursday.

Howard agreed to a five-year, $76.5 million contract which includes $46 million in guaranteed money and $51 million over the first three seasons.

The total value surpasses the five-year, $75 million that Washington gave Josh Norman in 2016. That had been the largest deal ever given to a cornerback.

My take: I am admittedly not crazy about giving Howard that much money. He's a one-year wonder coming off a knee injury, and I think he is very overrated by the Dolphins and their fans. That said, X is the best player on the team and this deal pretty much had to be done. Really a no-brainer. The money looks a lot better when you consider that the Phins won't have a big QB contract for at least 3-4 years.


The other news:
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article230216959.html

The Dolphins have a right tackle — right on schedule.

The team has agreed to terms with ex-Bills lineman Jordan Mills, marking Miami’s first foray into the post-May 7 free agency period.

The timing of the deal does not impact Miami’s 2020 compensatory picks, expected to be a third- and a fifth-round pick.

And it is lockstep with Chris Grier’s go-young, go-cheap philosophy. Mills’ contract terms? One year, $3 million.

Mills joins the Dolphins after starting every game for Buffalo the last three seasons.

My take: Mills has been a very mediocre player the past few seasons, so I don't expect him to become a Pro Bowler. The good news: he never misses a game and he is a great locker-room guy with a ton of experience. This move gives us legit competition at RT, with Mills expected to battle Zach Sterup and rookie Isaiah Prince. Another no-brainer move...adding a veteran on a cheap 'prove it' deal.

I was expecting Jesse Davis to compete for the RT job, but new OL coach didn't mention him after the Mills signing. SO either Davis is staying at RG (something I am not a fan of, at all), or he isn't in the Phins' plans. Too bad - I thought he had potential to be a decent RT.

based on Profootballreference.com Howard had 4 his second year and 7 last year even though he only played 12 games. Which is pretty good. But I do agree on the fact that he had knee injury and shouldn't be paid as much.

On the OL, I see Davis at RG because who is really there besides him

rightchea wrote:based on Profootballreference.com Howard had 4 his second year and 7 last year even though he only played 12 games. Which is pretty good. But I do agree on the fact that he had knee injury and shouldn't be paid as much.

On the OL, I see Davis at RG because who is really there besides him

I think the starting RG will be Chris Reed (former Jaguar).  We also have that AAF dude, Michael Dunn, and undrafted FA Shaq Calhoun.  I've heard good things about both Dunn and Calhoun.

Looks like Davis could be the odd man out with all the depth we suddenly have at RG and RT.

Isn't it amazing how quickly and easily Grier can find offensive linemen now that Gase and Tannenbaum are gone???  We don't know how good these new guys are, but the depth is already a million times better than it was the last several years.

I was expecting Jesse Davis to compete for the RT job, but new OL coach didn't mention him after the Mills signing. SO either Davis is staying at RG (something I am not a fan of, at all), or he isn't in the Phins' plans. Too bad - I thought he had potential to be a decent RT.

Great point, and I agree it looks like he will full-on have to battle to get a starting job.  

I wouldn't count Davis out just yet.  Unless my eyes deceive, there was very little drop-off from James to Davis IMO.  I would not at all be surprised if he wins one of those jobs.  If not, he's got a solid chance to serve as 2nd string. This staff seems to place a high value on flexibility, Davis' ability to play both Guard and Tackle on the right side increases his chances of sticking.

white1 wrote:

I was expecting Jesse Davis to compete for the RT job, but new OL coach didn't mention him after the Mills signing. SO either Davis is staying at RG (something I am not a fan of, at all), or he isn't in the Phins' plans. Too bad - I thought he had potential to be a decent RT.

Great point, and I agree it looks like he will full-on have to battle to get a starting job.  

I wouldn't count Davis out just yet.  Unless my eyes deceive, there was very little drop-off from James to Davis IMO.  I would not at all be surprised if he wins one of those jobs.  If not, he's got a solid chance to serve as 2nd string.  This staff seems to place a high value on flexibility, Davis' ability to play both Guard and Tackle on the right side increases his chances of sticking.

At 6'6", 325 Davis has a tackle body for sure, and I'd like to see him compete there. I agree that there was little drop-off when he played RT.

I think the thing that hurts Davis the most is that he's got no ties to the new staff (other than Grier, of course, and we don't know if Grier signed off on him). The new staff has brought in a bunch of OL...Dieter, Prince, Calhoun, Dunn, Reed and Mills - and I think a few other first-year players and undrafted rookies. That's a lot of bodies, so Davis really has his work cut out for him. If he steps up and claims a starting job, or even a back-up spot, he will have earned it for sure.

I should also add that I don't think too highly of Sterup. I'd rather see Davis over him in the RT competition.

One scary thing about this roster: who backs up Tunsil????

I say Davis gets that role or they will move over one of the AAF guys

I like the way they're building depth on the OL, because you need it there. Because of depth pick ups, we've already vastly improved the entire line.

JMP wrote:
Isn't it amazing how quickly and easily Grier can find offensive linemen now that Gase and Tannenbaum are gone???  We don't know how good these new guys are, but the depth is already a million times better than it was the last several years.

Yeah but, we picked up guys like Ted Larsen, Sam Young, Sterrup, Jesse Davis and none of them were special. I am hoping that Mills will be decent and maybe the rookie from Ohio State can develop into a player, we'll see. I too, am a little surprised that Davis is not the starter at RT, although he did get beat a LOT last year. A LOT.

The Howard deal appears to be 6 years, $78 million.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/05/10/xavien-howards-deal-not-quite-what-it-seems-to-be/

I was just going to post that. Seems like a good compromise, Howard got a lot of financial security, but the team has a lot of flexibility with this deal.

Looks to me the front office did a nice job. The injuries were probably a leverage point.

white1 wrote:I was just going to post that. Seems like a good compromise, Howard got a lot of financial security, but the team has a lot of flexibility with this deal.

Looks to me the front office did a nice job. The injuries were probably a leverage point.

Yeah, looking at the details it definitely seems like a fair deal for both sides. So this is what a competent front office looks like? Damn, it's been a loooooong time!