Both Xavien Howard and Chandler Jones have requested trades and a swap of the two defensive stars would benefit both the Dolphins and Cardinals.
The start of training camp often means there are some unhappy NFL stars who end up requesting a trade. Aaron Rodgers (somewhat surprisingly) isn’t one of those players as he reported to Green Bay. Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard is, however, taking to Instagram to request a trade after reporting to camp on Tuesday. And his request comes days after Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Chandler Jones made a trade request of his own.
So now comes the question of whether or not these two players, both of whom are seeking new contracts that will pay them what they believe is their market value, will be traded. And if so, where will they end up? But why not consider the possibility of swapping the 2020 league-leader in interceptions for one of the most productive sack artists in the last five years?
It’s hard to know exactly how the framework of a Xavien Howard for Chandler Jones trade would work, though we can assume that Arizona might have to send a late-round draft pick as a sweetener with Jones at 32 years old compared to Howard at only 28 years old. All told, though, both teams would be better in the end after making this trade, especially in terms of appeasing each of these star players.
How trading for Xavien Howard would help the Arizona Cardinals
As mentioned, Howard has been outright dominant as a ball-hawking man coverage cornerback. He led the NFL with 10 interceptions last season and did the same with seven picks back in 2018. Howard has been one of the most ball-productive cornerbacks in the league for the last few seasons, hence why he wants a new contract to essentially recognize that.
Looking at the Cardinals roster, the corner depth chart is one of the biggest concerns. Byron Murphy is still young but hasn’t totally found his footing. Meanwhile, Arizona will otherwise be relying on 31-year-old Maclolm Butler, a similarly aging Robert Alford and a host of unproven players at the position.
For a team that played the eighth-most man coverage in the league last season — no doubt due to their reliance on now-departed Patrick Peterson — that’s a problem for the Cardinals. But that man-heavy approach in the secondary plays ideally to what Howard does well.
Arizona has been impressively aggressive this offseason to try and keep pace in a loaded NFC West. But they might still be a bit behind when you look at their secondary. Making Jones happy by trading him and also addressing their greatest defensive weakness could be the recipe to get them over some sort of hump in the division and perhaps into the playoffs.
How trading for Chandler Jones would help the Miami Dolphins
On the other side of this trade, the Dolphins are firstly in a position where they might be able to move on from Howard. They have Byron Jones on an expensive contract already, which is probably why they don’t want to invest more money in Howard. But Miami also drafted Noah Igbinoghene in the first round in 2020. Additionally, slot man Justin Coleman should be a quality addition, as should veteran Jason McCourty.
Where they are much thinner, however, is on the edge. After trading Shaq Lawson this offseason, Miami used one of two first-round selections in 2021 on Jaelan Phillips, someone who could be an instant-impact presence as a pass-rusher. However, the likes of Andrew Van Ginkel, Brennan Scarlett and so on don’t offer much confidence.
While Chandler Jones is coming off a season-ending injury, he’s been unbelievably dominant at getting to the quarterback, totaling 49.0 sacks over the previous three seasons. And even if there’s a slight decline from that in his early 30s, he would still be a tremendous asset at a thin position group for the Dolphins.
Also factoring in the fact that Phillips could also learn from Jones at the position, thus setting Miami up better moving forward, and that head coach Brian Flores is at least somewhat familiar with Jones, this match seems pretty much perfect for an ascending franchise.