A story made headlines yesterday when it was reported that Dolphins star cornerback Xavien Howard was mentioned in a police report concerning a shooting at his former agent Damarious Bilbo’s house, but it looks like it’s going to turn out to be a nothing-burger.

The Dunwoody, Georgia police department announced Monday that they’ve closed the case, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. According to the report yesterday somebody fired a shot into Bilbo’s house, and although Howard wasn’t suspected as the shooter police did request to interview him several times but he declined. Bilbo no longer represents Howard, but he negotiated his big five-year extension with Miami in 2019.

Jackson does not that while the police department said the case is now inactive, they could reopen it in the future if more information comes to light. It’s a good thing this drama has been mostly cleared up, since Howard has enough on his plate this offseason.

He’s since grown unhappy with that aforementioned extension and feels underpaid, and is reportedly expected to ask for a trade if the Dolphins don’t renegotiate it. Miami took calls on Howard around last trade deadline, but they were understandably seeking a hefty sum and nothing got done.

Howard was a first-team All-Pro this past season and legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He’s become arguably the NFL’s top ballhawk, leading the league with ten interceptions in 2020. A knee injury cost him most of the 2019 season, but he was an All-Pro in 2018 too and is still only 27.

Even with the recent drama, there will likely be no shortage of suitors if the Dolphins do decide to trade him. Wherever he’s playing in 2021 though, it sounds like he’s going to want to be the highest-paid corner in the NFL.

Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard appears in an official incident report concerning a shooting at the home of his former agent, Damarius Bilbo, which happened in June 2020. Howard’s name is misspelled in the report, but it is clear that he is the person being referenced (though his name appears without explanation or context).

Pro Football Talk first obtained the report from Dunwoody (GA) authorities several days ago. In it, we learn that on June 29, someone fired a bullet into Bilbo’s home. Bilbo was not home at the time, but his wife and 12-year-old son were. The son told police that he saw a gold sedan pull up to the front of the house, that he saw a black male wearing a hoodie exit the vehicle and walk onto the lawn, and that the person jumped back into the vehicle after a shot was fired through a window.

Luckily, no one was injured, and the investigation is ongoing. Howard’s name appears on the “Additional Name List” on the second page of the report, but as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets, Howard is not suspected of firing the gun. Jackson adds in a full-length piece that Howard is also not believed to have been in the vehicle. However, police have requested interviews on several occasions, which Howard declined.

Howard declined the first interview request back in August, saying that he was dealing with COVID-19. The most recent request was made within the last few weeks.

Howard’s attorney, Darren Heitner, said, “Xavien was not involved in this incident and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.” At this point, that certainly seems accurate, as Howard’s only connection to the incident appears to be his former business relationship with Bilbo and his association to other individuals who were listed as “Additional Names.” Both the Pro Football Talk report and the Jackson article provide further info if you want to dive deeper.

Bilbo represented Howard until the two had a business dispute in October, but it was Bilbo who negotiated Howard’s five-year, $75.3MM extension in 2019, which made Howard the highest-paid CB in the league at the time. Howard just turned in the finest season of his career and was in the running for Defensive Player of the Year honors, and as such, he is seeking a renegotiation of his contract (even though he is under club control through 2024). Jackson wonders if the Dolphins will use this incident as a reason to reject such a renegotiation, but recent reports have indicated that Howard will ask for a trade if he does not get a raise.

As Jackson writes, it’s unclear if the NFL will investigate this matter. For now, the Dolphins, Bilbo, and Dunwoody police have declined to comment.

Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard just earned the second Pro Bowl bid of his career and is in the running for Defensive Player of the Year honors. He also wants a new contract.

According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Howard’s camp will ask the team to renegotiate the five-year, $75MM contract that Howard signed with the ‘Fins in 2019. Although the contract made Howard the highest-paid CB in the league at the time, he is now the sixth-highest-paid corner, one spot behind teammate Byron Jones and his $16.5MM average annual value. Plus, Jones’ $46MM in full guarantees dwarfs Howard’s $27.2MM, and Howard is looking to strike while the iron is hot.

The 27-year-old is leading the league in interceptions this season (nine), and while he was limited to just five games in 2019, he also led the league in picks in 2018 (despite playing in just 12 games that year). Pro Football Focus considers him the best corner in football this season, with a stellar 90.0 grade in coverage.

From that standpoint, it’s easy to see why Howard is looking for a contract more akin to the market-topping five year, $105MM pact ($71.2MM fully guaranteed) that Jalen Ramsey recently pulled down from the Rams. But that’s the nature of the beast, particularly at a premium position like CB. One player sets the market and another player comes along, sometimes hours later, and resets it. But the first player generally doesn’t get another bite at the apple with four years left on his existing contract, and Howard is under club control through 2024.

That said, Miami knows what it has in Howard, and Salguero says it’s possible the team tries to appease him. It’s currently unclear if the Dolphins even know about Howard’s intentions at this point, and while they certainly don’t want to set a precedent by renegotiating a deal that has so much time remaining, Howard is obviously a game-changing talent.

The ‘Fins did field trade calls for Howard before this year’s deadline, but they put an enormous price tag on him. If negotiations go awry, they could theoretically look to deal him and would have no issue finding suitors, but they appear to be a team on the rise and surely don’t want to lose their best defensive player when they hope to be contending for titles.

The Dolphins have received at least one trade inquiry on cornerback Xavien Howard, but it would take a “Laremy Tunsil type” offer to get a deal done, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. This jibes with previous reports we’ve heard — the Dolphins may be willing to listen, but they want a serious haul for the fifth-year star.

The Tunsil deal saw the standout left tackle and wide receiver Kenny Stills shipped to the Texans last year in exchange for two first-round draft picks, a second-round choice, and more. While Howard holds significant value, Tunsil was a special case. There’s a dearth of quality talent at the left tackle position, and teams were willing to pay a fortune for Tunsil.

The Dolphins extended Howard in April of last year, giving him a $15MM/year deal that runs through 2024. There’s no guaranteed money after this year, so the Dolphins could theoretically trade him today and absorb a modest $4.1MM cap hit. The 27-year-old is due base salaries of $12.1MM and $12.4MM in 2021 and ’22 before a slight drop to $12MM in ’23 and ’24.

Howard, who missed 11 games last season, led the NFL with seven interceptions in 2018 and already has 16 picks in his four-plus-season career. In that span, only Titans safety Kevin Byard has more INTs. So far this year, he’s tied for the NFL lead with four INTs (with Kendall Fuller of WFT and J.C. Jackson of the Patriots).

Xavien Howard has intercepted a pass in four straight games, and those four picks are tied for the NFL lead. The veteran cornerback has rebounded from an injury-marred 2019.

Although the Dolphins are 3-3, they have received trade inquiries on their standout corner. At least two teams have called the Dolphins about Howard, Barry Jackson and Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald report. While Howard would not mind being traded, according to the Herald, the Dolphins made the interesting move of sending out a statement they are not shopping him (Twitter link via Jackson).

Multiple other media outlets indicated the Dolphins were, in fact, entertaining offers for Howard. Considering the Dolphins are still in a rebuilding phase, having just given Tua Tagovailoa the reins, listening to proposals would make sense. The current regime, however, did extend Howard in April 2019. His $15MM-per-year deal runs through 2024. However, no guaranteed money remains on the contract after 2020. The Dolphins would take only a $4.1MM cap hit by trading the 27-year-old defender, who is due base salaries of $12.1MM and $12.4MM in 2021 and ’22. His 2023 and ’24 prices dip below $12MM, increasing potential trade value.

The Dolphins gave Byron Jones a then-cornerback-record contract in March and drafted Noah Igbinoghene in the first round a month later. The team has not been shy on dealing key players, with Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick being shipped out last year. No first-round pick would likely come Miami’s way in a Howard swap, though.

Howard, who missed 11 games last season, led the NFL with seven interceptions in 2018 and already has 16 picks in his four-plus-season career. In that span, only Titans safety Kevin Byard has more INTs.

The next time the Dolphins take the field for practice, they’ll finally have Xavien Howard leading the defense. The team announced today that they’ve activated the cornerback off the reserve/COVID-19 and active/physically unable to perform lists.

This is a significant step for Howard, who was limited to only five games last year before suffering a knee injury. That ailment forced him to undergo surgery, but the 27-year-old had been rehabbing at the Dolphins’ facility since June. Howard was formally placed on the PUP late in July, and a recent COVID-19 test forced his placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Now, Howard will be looking to take another step forward following a 2018 campaign where he earned his first Pro Bowl nod. That season, the former second rounder compiled 35 tackles, 12 passes defended, and a league-high seven interceptions in only 12 games. Howard has been with the organization since 2016, appearing in 40 total games.

The Dolphins will be hoping that Howard will team up with free agent addition Byron Jones to form one of the best cornerback tandems in the NFL. The team has a mixed bag of depth behind that duo, including Jamal Perry, Nate Brooks, and Nik Needham.