Could the Dallas Cowboys really land Xavien Howard?

Howard signed a five-year $75 million extension just two years ago and is already asking for more guaranteed money. I took a look at how plausible Howard would be to move and it is easier than some might think.

The Miami Dolphins trading Howard today would net the team just over $12  million in cap space and would only result in a dead money cap hit of $1.4 million. Just for comparison, the Dallas Cowboys signed then cut safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix last season before he even played an NFL game and it cost the team $2.25 million. Trading Howard is very doable.

Howard has a cap number of $13.5 million this season which is where the team wanted to be with former Dallas Cowboy and current Miami Dolphin Byron Jones. His next three years’ salary cap numbers are roughly $14.3million, $13.4 million, and $12.2 million. I get he signed this extension but you can see his disappointment.

Top tier cornerbacks are generating upwards of $20 million a year which makes the Dolphins unwillingness to redo the deal a little concerning. Howard is 28 years old and in the prime of his career. Trading for Howard would keep him locked up for at least four years and would give the team a natural out if his play were to start declining four years from now.

Howard is guaranteed just over $12 million this season and that is the end of his guaranteed money with three-season left to complete. That is certainly not an ideal position for the player to be in. What is interesting is how his statement was worded.

Xavien Howard says that he has significantly outperformed his contract but his proposals to the Miami Dolphins weren’t about getting a new contract. He mentions adding guaranteed money and that is where the Dallas Cowboys could pounce.

I hate to use a person’s words against them but if salary is the main obstacle in acquiring Howard, the Dallas Cowboys could swing a deal that could be in line with what Stephen Jones wanted to pay Byron Jones in the first place.

Howard doesn’t have any guaranteed money after this season so I took to Jalen Ramsey’s massive contract as a baseline. Ramsey signed a five-year $100 million deal with the Rams last season and they guaranteed him $43 million dollars. Could the Dallas Cowboys guarantee $10 million per year on the remaining three years of the deal?