Dolphins Demote Byron Maxwell

The Dolphins are demoting high-priced cornerback Byron Maxwell, report Adam H. Beasley and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Not only will the team reduce Maxwell’s playing time against the Bengals on Thursday, but it will also start Tony Lippett in his place, according to Beasley and Salguero.

Byron Maxwell (featured)

Maxwell and Lippett have been polar opposites this year in terms of playing time, as the former has participated in all 244 of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps and the latter hasn’t yet taken the field. Maxwell hasn’t done enough to justify seeing as much action going forward in the eyes of either the Dolphins or Pro Football Focus, which ranks the 28-year-old a below-average 69th out of 104 qualified corners in overall performance this season.

Maxwell has disappointed since leaving Seattle as a free agent after the 2014 season and signing a six-year, $63MM contract with Philadelphia. After the 6-foot-1, 203-pounder didn’t live up to his deal with the Eagles last season, they elected in March to send him, linebacker Kiko Alonso and the 13th pick in this year’s draft to Miami for the eighth selection.

Alonso has bounced back from a dreadful 2015 to serve as one of the league’s top linebackers against the run this season, per PFF, but the Maxwell era in Miami hasn’t been as fruitful. As a result, he’ll cede playing time to Lippett, a converted receiver and a fifth-rounder in the 2015 draft, as the Dolphins face the A.J. Green-led Bengals on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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