All 90 Miami Dolphins Players, Including Disgruntled Cornerback Xavien Howard, Report To Camp Tuesday

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - After sitting out mandatory minicamp because he is unhappy with his contract, all-pro cornerback Xavien Howard joined the rest of the Miami Dolphins reporting for training camp Tuesday.

Howard wants to renegotiate the $75.25 million, five-year extension he signed two years ago, and there had been speculation he might hold out.

But he didn't hold out Tuesday morning by showing up at the brand new, state-of-art Dolphins training facility next to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, along with the rest of the team.

"We're excited to work with X and all the players that are here," coach Brian Flores said. "There are a lot of things that are good with having him here."

Last year Howard had 10 interceptions, the most in the NFL since 2007. He also led the league with 20 passes defended.

Miami's other starting cornerback, Byron Jones, has a bigger contract — an $82.5 million, five-year deal signed last year.

Flores declined to talk about any negotiations or trade possibilities regarding Howard.

"Those conversations, like always, are going to be internal and confidential," Flores said. "But we're excited to have him. I'm excited to work with him. He's a great player."

All 90 players on the roster reported for conditioning tests at the new $135 million training camp.

"It is like the first day back to school," said Flores, beginning his third year with the team. "The guys are excited to see one another again, see the facility again, kind of get acclimated, here's the weight room, here's the training room. The coach's offices are here, the meeting rooms are here, the press conference room is here, so yea it's got that kind of vibe."

Quarterback Tua Tagovaloia was there bright and early, returning for his sophomore season.

As far as the roster, all draft picks are now signed. The last one to sign was offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg from Notre Dame, who signed Tuesday morning, on player report day.

When it comes to the increasing cases of COVID-19 in South Florida, Coach Flores did not say what percentage of players have received the COVID-19 vaccine, but said he is vaccinated and he won't pressure unvaccinated players.

"Everyone has their own personal reasoning and beliefs behind getting vaccinated or not," he said. "I respect everyone's choice in that matter. I'm not going to pressure anyone. I'm just going to give them the information. I'm not going to judge anyone's commitment to the team."

The first practice, in full pads, is Wednesday.

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It leads up to the first preseason game Saturday, August 14 against the Chicago Bears.

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