Dolphins waive Howard, former UM cornerback

The Miami Dolphins waived former University of Miami cornerback Tracy Howard, who joined the team late last season as a member of its practice squad, on Thursday.

Howard, a former Miramar High standout, spent the final two weeks of the 2017 regular season with the Dolphins, and was signed to a futures contract in January. However, that contract only allowed him to practice and train at the team’s training facility. It didn’t guarantee him a spot on the training camp’s 90-player roster.

Howard, who went undrafted but made the Cleveland Browns roster as a rookie in 2016, played in 15 games with three starts for the Browns that season. He totaled 16 career tackles (12 solo), one pass defensed and four special teams tackles.

But Howard, who contributed 102 tackles and five interceptions during his career with the Hurricanes, spent most of last season unemployed until the Dolphins signed him.

The Dolphins have a decent number of cornerbacks on the depth chart, and four veterans — Xavien Howard, Cordrea Tankersley, Bobby McCain and Tony Lippett — will compete for the two starting spots on the boundary and the nickel cornerback role, which has been manned by McCain for the past three seasons.

The Dolphins have the rookie class in town for orientation this week, and that includes former Southern Mississippi cornerback Cornell Armstrong, who was selected by the Dolphins in the sixth round of last month’s draft.