Georgia police case involving Howard classified as inactive

The case of an unsolved Atlantaarea shooting from last summer — in which no one was hurt but one round pierced a child’s playroom at NFL sports agent Damarius Bilbo’s house — was classified as inactive on Monday.

Miami Dolphins star cornerback Xavien Howard’s name appears on police documents in the “additional names list” portion because of his connections with other people involved in the investigation by the Dunwoody, Ga., police, Howard’s attorney said.

Dunwoody police requested to interview Howard several times, but he has declined to speak with them directly. He has communicated through his attorney Darren Heitner, who denies his client had any involvement.

“Xavien was not involved in this incident, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise,” Heitner said on Sunday.

“The case is not closed. There’s not enough evidence to pursue charges,” Dunwoody Sgt. Robert Parsons told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Monday. “That doesn’t exclude the possibility that charges can be filed at a later time.”

Bilbo represented Howard until he was fired in late October.

According to a league source, the Dolphins have had knowledge of this matter for months and are aware of Howard ending

his business relationship with Bilbo, who negotiated the five-year, $76.5 million extension the cornerback signed with Miami before the 2019 season.

Biblo leads the football division of Klutch Sports Group, which is owned by LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul.

Howard and Biblo had a contract grievance that was settled over the summer. After it was settled, Howard kept Bilbo on as his agent for three months before firing him.

Howard, who led the NFL with 10 interceptions and was a candidate for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honors, has since signed with South Florida-based agent David Canter. But until Canter gets Howard a new deal, Bilbo will receive a commission on the four years that remain on his current deal, which will pay the cornerback $12.1 million this season and has the potential to pay him $13 million in 2022.

However, this year concludes the final portion of the guaranteed money aspect of the deal. Howard and his camp have been pushing to get the contract reworked, likely so he could regain his status as one of the NFL’s three highest-paid cornerbacks.

Last offseason, the Dolphins signed Byron Jones to a five-year, $82.5 million contract that guaranteed him $46 million, and the deals Jalen Ramsey, Marlon Humphrey and Tre’Davious White got last offseason turned Howard into the sixth highest-paid cornerback in the league.