The Dolphins have little choice but to count heavily on second-round pick Xavien Howard to help shore up their secondary, but the question of how much the rookie can contribute early this season won’t be answered Thursday night against Atlanta.
Howard, coming off a knee injury that has sidelined him all training camp, said Sunday that he won’t make his preseason debut against the Falcons, but rather the Sept. 1 preseason finale against Tennessee.
“I don’t call it a setback,” he said.
In fact, Howard said with just the Titans game to break the ice on his NFL career, he’ll be good to go in the regular-season opener at Seattle.