Xavien Howard as the Dolphins starting cornerback against the Seattle Seahawks in the Sept. 11 regular-season opener? Bet on that.
The Dolphins are initially expecting to do exactly that with the rookie who has yet to play in a preseason game. And as part of that greater plan, Howard will play in Thursday's preseason finale against Tennessee -- his first game as a Miami Dolphin.
"We're going to play them both," coach Adam Gase said of Howard and fellow rookie Kenyan Drake, who also will be making his preseason debut. "And the next couple of days of practice we're going to see where they are from a conditioning standpoint.