For all intents and purposes, it's the end of an era in Miami. The Dolphins are making moves to improve upon what turned out to be an impressive finish to Brian Flores' first year as head coach in South Florida, and while it won't be easy to fill some of the many voids that exist, they're setting themselves up cap-wise to do a lot of damage in free agency. To that end, they've released safety Reshad Jones ahead of NFL free agency, per Adam Schefter of ESPN, freeing up nearly $6 million in cap space with the move.
Their projected cap space now sits at around $90 million, with legal tampering set to begin on March 16.
"We want to thank Reshad for everything he has done for the Miami Dolphins," said general manager Chris Grier in an official statement. "I have known Reshad since spending time with him at Georgia and have been impressed with everything he's been able to accomplish. We wish him the best moving forward."
Jones, 32, is a former fifth-round pick of the Dolphins (2010) who has spent his entire 10-year career in Miami.
Not so long ago, he was one of the better safeties in the entire NFL, landing Pro Bowl nods in both 2015 and 2017, and reeling in three interceptions as recently as 2018. The veteran has battled injury as of late, however, playing in just four games in 2019 before landing on injured reserve. If healthy, Jones remains a viable option for a team in need of a productive safety, and especially one who can be a solid stopgap measure to allow other pressing needs to be addressed in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Teams such as the Dallas Cowboys seem likely to have interest, along with others, and Jones isn't set to command a premium price -- given his age and aforementioned recent bout with injuries. Teams could do worse than to bring in a safety who has 21 interceptions, four defensive touchdowns and 776 combined tackles on his resume.
Jones may be out of a job for now, but probably won't be for very long.
