Checking Out the Dolphins Cornerback Search
As the Miami Dolphins continue to address their depth issue at cornerback, names from all around the league have begun to surface as potential additions.
Some of them are high-profile players, others are unkown commodities.
Among the most prominent are three-time Pro Bowl selection Joe Haden and former Minnesota Vikings second-round pick Mackensie Alexander, and yet another is rookie free agent Raleigh Texada.
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Based on Haden's agent Drew Rosenhaus' comments, though, we can forget about Haden unless the Dolphins run into a real emergency, meaning they lose one of their top three cornerbacks — Xavien Howard, Byron Jones or Nik Needham.
What the Dolphins need right now is depth beyond those three because of the knee injury to Trill Williams, who looked in camp like the leading contender to be the fourth cornerback. The Dolphins also will have to monitor the progress of Jones, who has been on PUP since the start of camp while he continues to recover from offseason leg surgery.
"I've talked to the Dolphins about Joe throughout the offseason, but more about Byron Jones — if Byron Jones wasn't able to come back," Rosenhaus said during his weekly appearance on South Florida TV station WSVN. "Joe Haden, if he signs with the team, it's gonna be a starter or at least a third corner. So I'm not sure that Joe is a fit to replace Trill Williams. Now if unfortunately Byron Jones were to have a setback or something were to happen to one of the top three corners and Joe is still unsigned, that'd be a great fit. A few years ago before Joe went to the Steelers, the Dolphins were the runners-up. And I had long conversations with Chris Grier. So Joe Haden is a name to keep in mind."
While there have been no public comments from other agents, it's safe to assume that other veterans — like Chris Harris Jr., Xavier Rhodes and A.J. Bouye — might be hesitant to come in as a fourth cornerback.
DOLPHINS CORNERBACK WORKOUTS
The Dolphins reportedly were set to work out two other cornerbacks Monday, according to Pro Football Network reporter Aaron Wilson.
One was Alexander and the other was rookie free agent Raleigh Texada.
Alexander, who played at Immokalee High near West Palm Beach, remains unsigned after being an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
He played five of his first six seasons with the Vikings, returning to Minnesota on a one-year contract in 2021 after one season with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Alexander, who has started 25 games in his six NFL seasons, struggled in 2021 based on his Pro Football Reference metrics, allowing a 119.2 passer rating when targeted. His numbers in that category were much more impressive the previous three seasons — 82.1 in 2018, 84.3 in 2019 and 82.3 in 2020.
Alexander (5-10, 190) played at Clemson, where he was teammates with Christian Wilkins during Wilkins' freshman year of 2015.
As for Texada, he went undrafted out of Baylor before signing with the Green Bay Packers in May. The Packers, however, waived him before the start of training camp.
