Reshad Jones - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins To Extend Reshad Jones

March 9th, 2017 at 2:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins have agreed to an extension with safety Reshad Jones, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. The new deal is worth $60MM over five years and contains $35MM guaranteed.

Jones originally planned to holdout through minicamp last summer in the hopes of landing an extension, but he eventually caved without a new deal being reached. Perhaps as a reward for that show of good faith, Miami is now making Jones on of the highest-paid safeties in the league despite the fact that he missed most of the season with a rotator cuff injury.

Jones, 29, had 51 total tackles, four passes defensed, one interception, and even half a sack in six games last season. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus had him ranked as the third-best safety in the NFL during that six-game stretch with a strong 88.5 overall grade.

While Jones is under contract for the long haul, the Dolphins still need to worry about their other safety, Isa Abdul-Quddus. At present, it’s unclear if IAQ will be able to play in 2017 due to a neck injury.

AFC East Notes: Fitzpatrick, Dolphins, Pats

February 12th, 2017 at 10:10am CST by Rory Parks

The Ryan Fitzpatrick era may be over in New York, but as Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post points out, the Jets are still feeling the after-effects. Per Cannizzaro, Fitzpatrick’s contract automatically voided on Friday, per the scheduled clause that called for such action five days after the Super Bowl. But, because of the way his two-year deal was structured, New York will carry $5MM in dead money on the 2017 salary cap. Fitzpatrick almost assuredly will not return to Gang Green, and Geno Smith is a free agent as well, which means that the Jets now have two quarterbacks under contract — Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg — that are both severely lacking in NFL experience. As a result, the Jets have been speculatively connected to some of the better quarterback prospects in this year’s draft as well as veteran options that could become available.

Now for some more notes from the AFC East:

Dolphins safety Reshad Jones, who missed the last 10 games of the 2016 season after a significant shoulder injury, has made a full recovery, Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald reports. Jones, who is entering the final year of his contract, indicated that he will be physically able to participate in the Dolphins’ offseason schedule.
In the same piece, Beasley writes that Dolphins offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod, who will be an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins in March, will return for an 11th NFL season if he gets the right offer. Bushrod played for the Saints for six years before joining the Bears prior to the 2013 campaign. The 2016 season was Bushrod’s first in Miami, and though he started all 16 regular season games plus the team’s one playoff contest, he largely struggled, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ fourth-worst guard out of 72 eligible players (subscription required).
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe provides a list of 10 things he believes the Patriots should do this offseason, and he suggests that trading Jimmy Garoppolo should be one of New England’s top priorities. With Tom Brady showing no signs of aging, Volin believes the Pats need to do continue surrounding their starting quarterback with top-flight talent, and one way to do that is by acquiring at least one significant draft asset in exchange for Garoppolo.
Another thing Volin thinks the Patriots should do is to re-sign running back LeGarrette Blount to a one-year, incentive-laden deal. After all, that approach worked well for both parties in 2016, as Blount turned his $760K salary into $1.75MM after hitting every incentive in his contract. He tallied career bests of 1,161 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, and as Christopher Price of WEEI.com reports, the 30-year-old Blount would love to be back with the team in 2017, though he does not know what the future holds.

Fins Prioritizing Kenny Stills, Andre Branch

January 26th, 2017 at 9:48am CST by Connor J. Byrne

Free agency is looming for wide receiver Kenny Stills and defensive end Andre Branch, but the Dolphins are going to work hard to lock the two up before March. The club will meet with the representatives for both players at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., this week in an attempt to set “a baseline starting point in negotiations,” according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.

“We want to keep our own,” executive vice president Mike Tannenbaum said. “We’re never going to bat a thousand. The system just is not set up for it. We’ve been able to extend some players before I started — some like Mike Pouncey or Ryan Tannehill we were able to do — but candidly, you can’t keep them all. We understand that and acknowledge that.

Both Stills and Branch are coming off productive seasons, and each has professed a “love” for the Dolphins since the team’s season ended. In the first 16-start campaign of his four-year career, Stills, 24, averaged a club-high 17.3 yards per catch on 42 receptions and also led the Dolphins in touchdown grabs (nine). The 27-year-old Branch set a career high in starts (11) and posted 5.5 sacks – his second-best total since entering the NFL in 2012 – after inking a modest free agent deal to leave Jacksonville last March.

On Stills, who joined the Dolphins in a 2015 trade with the Saints, general manager Chris Grier stated: “It’s important for us to bring him back. We’d like to have him back. It’s his right to test the market and see what he can get, but we’d like to have him back.”

As with Stills and Branch, the Dolphins would like to re-sign soon-to-be free agent tight end Dion Sims, reports Salguero. Sims is less of a priority than Stills and Branch, however, and it’s unclear if his reps will meet with the Dolphins in Mobile. The 25-year-old logged personal bests in receptions (26) and TDs (four) during his 14-game 2016. He averaged under 10 yards per catch, though, leading to the possibility that the Dolphins could look for a better playmaking tight end this offseason.

In danger of losing each of Stills, Branch and Sims within the next couple months, the Dolphins aren’t yet focusing on extensions for wideout Jarvis Landry or safety Reshad Jones, per Salguero. Those two cornerstones are already under contract for next season, so there’s less urgency for Miami to determine their futures. While Salguero expects the Dolphins to ultimately ink Landry and Jones to new deals, talks haven’t yet begun. Indeed, Grier revealed Wednesday that “we’ll worry about the guys right now with the immediate free agents and then we’ll start working towards the guys that are still under contract.”

Extra Points: Johnson, Dolphins, Mays, Chiefs

November 1st, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the NFL as we wrap up this Tuesday evening:

As expected, the Titans have placed veteran Andre Johnson on the reserve-retired list, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The wide receiver announced his retirement earlier this week.
Dolphins safety Reshad Jones, who was recently ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn rotator cuff, told Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald that he played with the injury for the past two seasons (Twitter link). The reporter notes that the team discussed surgery with Jones about a year ago, but the player opted against it. The 28-year-old estimated that it would take four months to recover from the surgery.
Wilson reports (via Twitter) that safety Taylor Mays has had his suspension lifted. The 28-year-old signed with the Bengals this offseason, but he was released after he was disciplined for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Mays made five starts for the Raiders last season, compiling 26 tackles and five passes defended.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News wouldn’t be surprised if Knile Davis landed back with the Chiefs (Twitter link). The organization placed running back Jamaal Charles on the injured reserve earlier this evening, and they signed Bishop Sankey to compete with Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West. Davis, meanwhile, was cut by the Jets after having been claimed only hours before.

Dolphins Claim Nick Williams From Chiefs

October 19th, 2016 at 4:21pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Dolphins have claimed defensive end Nick Williams off waivers from the Chiefs and placed safety Reshad Jones on injured reserve, per an announcement from Miami.

The 26-year-old Williams had a brief unemployed stint after Kansas City cut him Tuesday. Williams had appeared in each of the Chiefs’ five games this year prior to his ouster, but he only participated in 11.9 percent of their defensive snaps. Since entering the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in 2013, Williams has amassed 21 appearances – all with the Chiefs.

Williams will likely try to catch on at defensive tackle with the Dolphins, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). The Dolphins have relied heavily this year on Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Phillips along the interior, while Chris Jones and Julius Warmsley have combined for roughly 90 snaps apiece as depth options.

The placement of Jones on IR was expected after Salguero reported earlier Tuesday that Miami would shut him down for the season. Jones, one of the Dolphins’ premier players, suffered a torn rotator cuff in their 30-15 upset over the Steelers last Sunday.

Dolphins’ Reshad Jones Done For Season

October 19th, 2016 at 10:17am CST by Zachary Links

Bad news for the Dolphins. Star safety Reshad Jones has been ruled out for the rest of the season, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (on Twitter). Jones will be placed on IR.

Earlier this week, we learned that the Dolphins feared that Jones suffered a torn rotator cuff. Apparently, their worst fears were confirmed by doctors on Wednesday morning.

Jones, 28, has 51 total tackles, four passes defensed, one interception, and even half a sack through six games this season. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have him ranked as the third-best safety in the NFL so far this year with a strong 88.5 overall grade. Miami has been leaning on him heavily as evidenced by his 437 total snaps this season.

The Bills are next up for the 2-4 Dolphins. The Bills are riding a four-game winning streak and Miami will try to snap it without the services of one of their very best defensive players.

Dolphins’ Reshad Jones Done For Season?

October 17th, 2016 at 3:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Reshad Jones‘ season could already be over. The Dolphins fear that the safety tore his rotator cuff, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Jones is currently undergoing tests to determine the severity of his injury.

Jones was instrumental in the Dolphins’ surprising 30-15 win over the Steelers on Sunday. If the Dolphins lose the best player in their secondary for the season, it’s hard to see them building momentum off of that win and turning their season around.

Jones, 28, has 51 total tackles, four passes defensed, one interception, and even half a sack through six games this season. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have him ranked as the third-best safety in the NFL so far this year with a strong 88.5 overall grade. Miami has been leaning on him heavily as evidenced by his 437 total snaps this season.

The 2-4 Dolphins take on the red hot Bills next week.

AFC Notes: Fins, Jones, Texans, Broncos, Colts

July 31st, 2016 at 8:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins have not ruled out renegotiating, or even extending, the contract of safety Reshad Jones, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jones was planning a holdout in the hopes of landing an extension from Miami, and reportedly even mulled a season-long boycott, but eventually reported to camp in June. The 28-year-old Jones doesn’t seem very worried about his deal at this point, telling Jackson that he’s “just worried about helping [his] team win.”

Here’s more from the AFC:

Offensive tackle Chris Clark attracted interest from four teams over the offseason, and the free agent was able to use that leverage to land a two-year, $6MM deal from the Texans, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle writes. Clark, who will act as Houston’s swing tackle, is set to serve in an especially valuable role given that starting left tackle Duane Brown is recovering from a torn quadriceps. But Clark might needed on the right side as well, as starter Derek Newton suffered a strained hamstring today and will be sidelined for a few weeks, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
The Broncos don’t have a clear line of succession at owner, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post details, noting that the club is currently run by president/CEO Joe Ellis. Ellis is one of three trustees who will determine which of Pat Bowlen‘s seven children will take over as the team’s primary owner as Bowlen himself deals with Alzheimer’s disease. For now, though, Ellis, along with strong leadership by GM John Elway and head coach Gary Kubiak, have the team moving a good direction.
Although Eric Fisher‘s new contract is probably an overpay, the Chiefs are both spending on future performance and working under a “fear of the unknown,” writes Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap. With fewer qualified offensive tackles entering the league due to the prevalence of the spread offense in the NCAA, Kansas City was willing to extend Fisher now rather than wade into the draft to find a risky tackle option. Plus, given that Fisher was effectively guaranteed $15.3MM over the next two seasons, his new guarantee of $22MM isn’t completely out of left field.
The Colts are working out former Panthers offensive lineman Edmund Kugbila, Mike Chappell of Fox59 tweets. The Panthers selected Kugbila in the fourth round of the 2013 draft but he has yet to play a single professional snap due to various injuries.

Reshad Jones Reports To Dolphins Minicamp

June 15th, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

11:30am: Speaking to reporters today, Jones said that the holdout is “behind him” and it’s now “all about football” (Twitter link via Armando Salugero of The Miami Herald). Furthermore, the safety said he will not hold out from training camp.

Recently, it was reported that Jones was mulling the idea of an in-season holdout if he did not get a pay raise, but it seems unlikely that Jones will go that route if he is committing to show for training camp.

9:19am: Reshad Jones‘ practice boycott is over, at least for now. After skipping out on the first day of June’s mandatory minicamp, the safety is in the building today, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (via Twitter).

Today marks Jones’ first appearance at the Dolphins’ practice facility as he also stayed away from voluntary OTAs in May. Despite having two years remaining on his current contract, the 28-year-old is pushing to renegotiate the terms. After earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 2015, Jones apparently feels like now is the time to strike.

He is ostensibly looking to be paid like one of the top safeties in the NFL, but that will be quite the uphill battle for him since strong safeties are not paid as highly as free safeties. As far as strong safeties go, Jones is actually the highest paid one in the NFL, so long as you count him as a free safety these days. As it stands today, Jones is slated to earn base salaries of $7.225MM in 2016 and $7.06MM in 2017, with cap hits of $8.203MM and $8.038MM, respectively.

While Jones continues to pout, the Dolphins have been publicly upbeat about the group of safeties that have been participating this offseason. Of course, they’d much rather have Jones in the fold and they’d like to avoid the in-season holdout that he is reportedly mulling. However, caving into those threats and reworking Jones’ deal with two years to go would set a bad precedent for the team going forward. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Dolphins hold their ground and force Jones to play out the ’16 season on his current deal before discussing a new one.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reshad Jones To Holdout Through Minicamp

June 13th, 2016 at 10:56am CST by Zachary Links

Dolphins safety Reshad Jones‘ holdout is expected to continue through minicamp, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Jones, who skipped all of the team’s OTAs, will face fines if he follows through with his minicamp boycott. The news doesn’t come as a huge surprise after word leaked out that Jones is mulling a hold out for the entire 2016 season. If Jones takes his holdout into the regular season, he’ll lose roughly $400K per game.

Jones set new career-highs in tackles (135), passes defended (10), and interceptions (five) last season. PFF ranked Jones as the 13th-best safety in the NFL in 2015, and of the 89 qualified safeties, only two received higher grades as run defenders than Jones did. Still, one has to wonder if Jones is overplaying his hand with Miami.

Jones has two years remaining on his deal and stands as either the league’s highest paid or second highest-paid strong safety, depending on how you classify Chiefs star Eric Berry. Generally speaking, strong safeties are not paid as highly as their counterparts in the secondary. Jones, who earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2015, is on the books for base salaries of $7.225MM in 2016 and $7.06MM in 2017, with accompanying cap hits of $8.203MM and $8.038MM, respectively.

Last year, Kam Chancellor was in a contract standoff with the Seahawks before finally reporting to the team during Week Three. Chancellor‘s holdout cost him $1.1MM in fines, $500K in signing-bonus forfeiture, and about $534K in lost salary for a total of about $2.134MM in potential lost earnings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.