Byron

Jones

He’ll have a $13.6 million cap savings for the Dolphins as a post-June 1 cut, per Adam Schefter’s reporting. It was a foregone conclusion that this would happen after Jones’ lost year and his cryptic tweets about how he can’t run or jump anymore due to his injuries. In theory, Jones turns 31 in September and would be a decent veteran flyer. It doesn’t sound like he’s healthy enough to get to theory right now.

“He’s under contract with us right now,”. “[Defensive coordinator] Vic [Fangio] is back in Florida looking over the team. Obviously, he’s going to have some say in this with his scheme and what we’re doing and we’ll talk with Byron. A lot of moving parts right now.” Jones hinted his career was over last week but isn’t expected to retire since he would risk forfeiting his signing bonus. The Dolphins could make Jones a post-June cut when the new league year opens, clearing $13.6 million in cap space.

In a second post, Jones stated “it was an honor and privilege to play in the NFL but it came at a regrettable cost I did not foresee.” He continued by expressing a note of caution to the incoming rookies before deleting the posts in under an hour. No official announcement has been made by Jones, his agent, or the Dolphins. Expect continued coverage throughout the offseason for the once-dominant corner, with all signs pointing to a release by Miami once the new league year begins.

It’s not too hard to connect the dots here after Jones missed the entirety of the season with an ankle injury that initially sent him to PUP. Jones turns 31 in September and the Dolphins had to break in new cornerbacks due to his injury. Miami, currently $16 million above the projected salary cap per Over The Cap, will need to make some tough choices. Jones might be an easy decision in comparison.

McDaniel was optimistic throughout most of the summer that Jones would be ready to play by Week 1. Now heading into Week 12 of the season, Jones remains on injured reserve while McDaniel appears unsure of when he could return. Jones underwent ankle surgery in March and missed virtually all of the offseason while recovering. McDaniel isn’t willing to rule Jones out for the season, but we have little reason to believe he’ll be activated based on the way the year has gone.

Jones will now miss at least the first four weeks of the season. The team was hopeful he’d be ready for the opener, but Jones is now out for another month at minimum. 30 years old next month, Jones is entering his third season in Miami after signing a monster contract. He has all of four career interceptions to his name and was Pro Football Focus’ No. 93 cover corner last season. Miami’s cornerback depth chart behind Xavien Howard is pretty thin.

“As of now, he hasn’t had any setbacks,” McDaniel said. “I believe in the player and the human being so we hold the same optimism as we did before for him coming back Week 1.” The coach does not sound as certain as he did earlier in camp, but it still looks like Jones is on track for the season opener.

Jones underwent ankle surgery this offseason and missed team OTAs as a result. The soon-to-be 30-year-old corner also restructured his contract, converting $13.25 million of his base salary to a signing bonus to free up $10.6 million in cap space for the team. Jones can be activated from the PUP list at any time and should be ready for the team’s Week 1 game against the Patriots.

Jones had ankle surgery earlier this month, with injury protection making his contract fully guaranteed for this season. The restructure converts $13.25 million of his base salary into a signing bonus to create $10.6 million in cap space. Jones now carries a $1.12 million salary for 2022. Dolphins FS Clayton Fejedelem also reworked his deal, clearing an additional $750K for Miami.

The injury and subsequent surgery make his contract fully guaranteed for 2022. Now that his $14.4 million salary is locked in, a release is off the table. Jones has played well in Miami but hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectation set by his five-year, $82.5 million contract. Wolfe noted that there was trade interest surrounding Jones, but the surgery now muddies the waters of a potential move.