Dolphins place CB Howard on IR, waive TE O’Leary, sign TE Walford

The Miami Dolphins announced Tuesday that they are placing their star, and recently re-signed, number one cornerback, Xavien Howard, on injured reserve. 

The 0-7 Dolphins announced that Howard did not injure his ACL or MCL and will not require surgery, but the team doesn’t want to make matters worse in a season that Miami cannot make the playoffs. 

“Injuries are part of the game so I guess there’s not too much concern from my standpoint. He’s young. He’s tough. Football is very important to him. People get dinged and deal with injuries on a year-to-year basis and guys come back, they play and have successful careers; so no, (I’m) not overly concerned,” head coach Brian Flores said.

The Pro-Bowler, who just signed a five-year, $75 million dollar extension in the offseason, had 17 tackles, four defensed passes and one interception this season in five starts. His interception came before his exit on Monday Night Football this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

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Dolphins waive O’Leary, awarded Crawford

Additionally, Miami was awarded CB Xavier Crawford off of waivers from the Houston Texans and waived tight end Nick O’Leary to make a roster spot for him.

Crawford has played in four NFL games with the Texans and has two special teams tackles (one solo). He entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick (195th overall) by Houston in the 2019 NFL draft.

O’Leary has played in 19 games (nine starts) over the past two seasons with Miami. He was promoted to the active roster on Oct. 6, 2018 and has caught 12 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown during his time as a Dolphin. O’Leary originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick (194th overall) by the Buffalo Bills in the 2015 NFL Draft and has played in 54 NFL games in his career.

O’Leary was apart of a detrimental turnover on MNF this week that resulted in a Pittsburgh interception. His play in the game, and lackluster performances this season, are likely the key reasons Miami chose to cut him.

“I thought ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) made a nice throw and a nice read on the (Nick) O’Leary play. That was a key play in the game,” Flores said. “We needed a roster spot so we had to make a move, and we made the move with Nick.”

Miami re-signs Walford

The Dolphins were awarded Crawford before placing Howard on IR, so in turn Miami signed TE Clive Walford back to the team once it officially placed Howard on the list. Walford was in the Dolphins’ training camp prior to this season before being released in late August ahead of the 53-man roster deadline.According to offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea, TE’s Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe are expected to take the bulk of the snaps and it is currently unknown how Miami will factor Walford into the mix.

– Kayla Morton is the Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage Miami Dolphins. Like and follow on Follow @mortonsalt74 Follow @FPC_Dolphins and Facebook.