The ' star-studded defensive backfield of four-time Pro Bowl cornerback and seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback is no more.The Dolphins informed Howard, who had three years remaining on his five-year, $90 million contract, that at the start of the new league year, . Miami will collect $18.5 million by designating Howard as a post-June 1 release, according to the. In contrast, the Dolphins would only save $2.8 million if they cut Howard before June 1. More on Dolphins The team can release him at the start of the new league year on March 13 and still designate him as a post-June 1 cut to hit maximum savings. However, that cap relief doesn't hit until June 1, meaning Miami will have to carry Howard's full cap charge for the current season until June. This is typically more of a move done by teams with an eye Miye Oni Jersey on having the ability to squeeze their rookie draft cla s into their cap room in the summer.Howard's 29 career interceptions since he entered the league as a second-round pick of the Dolphins (38th overall) in 2016 are the second most acro s the last eight seasons, trailing only Pro Bowl safety ' 30. His best year came in 2020 when he led the league with 10 interceptions, which earned him his only First-Team All-Pro nod. Howard's four Pro Bowl selections in a Dolphins uniform are tied for the second most in franchise history by a defensive back, trailing only safety Jake Scott's five in the 1970's. Howard is the second of two cost-cutting moves by Miami that have been made known Friday. The Dolphins are, which will save them between $13.7 million and $15.7 million. The two releases will save Miami over $30 million in cap room. MIA CB #25 Howard will now immediately be one of the most sought-after free agent corners this offseason along with , , and .Here is a look at five potential free agency landing spots for Howard, who turns 31 on July 4. The Texans are trying to win now after they were able to win the AFC South and reached the AFC divisional round in quarterback first season in which he earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. They have a couple foundational defensive pieces already in 2023 Defensive Rookie of the Year edge rusher . and 2022 third overall pick cornerback , whose five interceptions were tied for the fourth most in the last season.Houston is projected to have the seventh-most cap space in the league this offseason, $67.6 million according to OverTheCap.com, with many key contributors on both sides of the ball on their Jeff Green Jersey rookie deals. Howard could be a nice veteran voice in their locker room as well as a solid CB2 acro s from Stingley on a defense that surrendered the 10th-most pa sing yards per game (234.1) in the NFL last season.The NFC runner-ups are in a great spot as their rebuild is now ahead of schedule with the team reaching the conference championship round with rookies like running back , tight end and safety playing key roles. However, Detroit's secondary could still use some work as it was below league average in pa s defense (336.1 pa sing yards per game allowed, 19th in NFL). Howard can add some needed experience to what Rudy Gobert Jersey 's overall a young defensive backfield. Equipped with $63.7 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap.com, the Lions could be in on the Howard sweepstakes. Quarterback is entering the final year of his current deal in 2024, so Detroit will likely have to get that done first before entertaining external free agents.The 2023 Commanders were the worst defense in football. They ranked dead last in scoring defense (30.5 points per game allowed), total defense (388.9 total yards per game allowed), pa s defense (262.2 pa sing yards per game allowed), pa sing touchdowns allowed (39) and pa ser rating allowed (105.7). The good news for them is they have the most cap space in the entire NFL this offseason with just over $87 million in room, according to OverTheCap.com. Given they will likely select a new quarterback to build their franchise around with the second overall pick in the 2024 , they will have money to spend for a few years with a pa ser on their rookie deal. Cornerback is a dire need for Washington. Commanders cornerback allowed the second-most pa sing yards by a single player in the NFL last season, 872 yards to be exact. , the team's 16th overall pick in the 2023 , struggled immensely with the transition from playing in the SEC at Mi si sippi State in college to the NFL last season. Washington benched him Justin Wright-Foreman Jersey from Weeks 12-16.Howard would walk into Washington as its top corner immediately. New head coach Dan Quinn's defenses thrived upon getting takeaways (93, led the NFL from 2021-2023), specifically from interceptions (59, led the NFL from 2021-2023). He will certainly want ma sive upgrades at the cornerback position, and Howard could be the start of that for the Commanders this offseason.The Raiders underwent a significant defensive turnaround last season following the firing of head Josh McDaniels and the promotion of linebackers coach Antonio Pierce to interim head coach. Las Vegas led the NFL in scoring defense (16.0) under Pierce from Week 9 through the conclusion of the 2023 regular season. However, they still ranked 22nd in pa sing yards per game allowed (226.0) under Pierce last season, highlighting their secondary as an area for improvement entering his first season as the team's full-time head coach. One of the Raiders' starting cornerbacks,, is set to become a free agent, opening a spot that Howard could slide into. Vegas is projected to have the 10th-most cap space in the league this offseason at $48.7 million, according to OverTheCap.com, making the addition of Howard viable.The Minnesota Vikings defense showed significant improvement under defensive coordinator Brian Flores in his first season at the controls. Minnesota allowed 25.1 points per game in 2022, ranking 28th out of 32 teams. Under Flores, that number dropped to 21.3 points per game, good for 13th in the league.However, they still struggled against the pa s (234.5 pa sing yards per game, 24th in the league), and a lot of their succe s can be attributed to Flores' schematic smoke and mirrors. Flores had Minnesota blitzing at a league-high rate of 50.7% in attempt to combat their lack of pa s rush (32.1% quarterback pre sures rate, 27th in NFL) outside of Pro Bowl edge rusher , who ranked top 10 in the NFL in pre Royce O'Neale Jersey sures (80, 10th) and sacks (16.5, fifth). The Vikings could use some veteran savvy on the back end of their defense, and Flores coached Howard for three seasons as his head coach from 2019-2021. A reunion in the Twin Cities would make sense for both parties. Plus, the Vikings are projected to have $37.9 million in cap space this offseason. However, the addition of Howard will likely be dictated by whether or not Minnesota opts to re-sign quarterback , who is slated to become a free agent this offseason.