Dolphins Want To Trade Reshad Jones

Dolphins GM Chris Grier said back in April that he expected safety Reshad Jones to be a part of the club in 2019, but there have been rumblings that Miami intends to shop Jones, and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that the Fins would indeed prefer to trade the two-time Pro Bowler if they get an offer to their liking.

Jones has been absent from OTAs thus far, though head coach Brian Flores expects him to show up for this week’s mandatory minicamp. Jones, 31, is not a part of the Dolphins’ long-term future and carries significant yearly cap hits over the rest of his contract — which runs through 2021 — so it makes sense that Miami would want to make a trade.

Releasing Jones is not feasible because of the dead money that the team would incur, but if the Dolphins are able to deal him, they would carry just $4MM in dead money in 2019 while creating $13MM of cap space. Of course, another club would need to be willing to assume Jones’ contract, and given his age and the fact that he is coming off shoulder surgery, it is unclear if Miami will be able to drum up much interest.

As Jackson notes, the team won’t just give Jones away. If Miami can get a decent draft pick in return, it may be willing to pay part of his salary. If not, then the Fins will just hang onto him and cut him next spring, when the dead cap hit would be more palatable.

Because they don’t want to hurt his trade value, the Dolphins are not making a big deal about Jones’ absence from OTAs or the fact that he refused to go back in the team’s game against the Jets last November after being told earlier in the week that he would be used in a rotation. But the team internally believes those decisions run counter to Flores’ team-first mentality, which further underscores the desire to trade Jones.

If a deal is consummated, the club could shift 2018 first-rounder Minkah Fitzpatrick to safety, or if it feels Fitzpatrick is more valuable as a slot corner, then CB Bobby McCain would likely be asked to fill the void.