Phins Give Reshad Jones the ‘Inglorious Boot’

M.J.

5 years ago

Jones was once a shining light for the Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have released former Pro Bowl safety Reshad Jones. Considering the Phins will take an $8 million dollar cap hit with his release, this was something Brian Flores was willing to pay a lot to make happen. Quite the inglorious end to a player once considered the foundation of the franchise. But, Jones worked very hard to get his walking papers, so it’s likely he wanted this break up as much a Flores did.

Que sera, sera.

There are two things I’ll always remember about Reshad Jones: His epic 2015 Season and how he quit on the team against the Jets in 2018.

As a player, Jones was a gambler. When his instincts were right he could turn the game around for the Phins like few Dolphins ever did. But when his instincts were wrong, Jones could bury Miami in a game, a season… or in the locker room. His 2015 and 2018 Seasons are mirrors of his mercurial play. This isn’t a knock. It’s the truth.

Here is some more truth:

Jones’ 2015 Season was one of the best seasons by a safety (or any position really) in NFL history.

Reflect on what Reshad Jones did in 2015:

135 tackles with 9 tackles for loss
5 interceptions with two returned for touchdowns
10 passes defended
2 sacks
one fumble recovery

Mindboggling!

Suck in that production for a second! One helleva’ year wasn’t it.?!

The fall from Grace for Jones

Sadly, I think two injuries undercut Jones and began his collapse as a Miami Dolphin. His shoulder injury in 2016 was bad, but the career-ending injury to safety Isa Abdul-Quddus was worse. The two of them fit together perfectly. Quddus covered Jones’s moments of bad instinct and allowed Jones even more free reign. The future for the two looked as high as the stars. But both ended up injured in 2016 and for Quddus it was a career-ender.

Jones had another amazing year in 2017, but the Gase regime was collapsing. And in 2018, Jones notoriously quit on Gase and the Dolphins in the Jets game with a ‘self benching’ because he didn’t like not being in on every play.

Jones then followed up this selfish behavior in 2019 by not showing up early in camp to instead “train on his own”. Given he was being paid north of $25 million and the new coach was a believer in selflessness, this was, as I wrote then, the beginning of the end for Jones in Miami. Of course, this doesn’t mean his career is over. You can bet with the pay per head sportsbook services like www.AcePerHead.com, that teams will give Jones an opportunity to play in 2020.

I have no proof of it either, but I’d be willing to bet Jones played a part in Minkah Fitzpatrick ‘me movement’.

Jones was right there with Cameron Wake and Jarvis Landry as my favorite Dolphins players over the last 10 years. After the ‘self benching’ and his showing in 2019, I was hoping this day would come sooner rather than later.

As the Wolf once said in Pulp Fiction, “Just because you are a character doesn’t mean you have character.”

Jones was a great talent with a poor character that forgot that Miami drafted him, let him play his roamer style, developed him, and trusted him by paying him millions. Jones repaid that mega-contract by quitting on the Dolphins and milking them for as much as he could.

Funny in the end, Miami did him a solid and let him go before Free Agency. They could have kept him until after all the money was spent. This would have constricted his options and likely his pay.

Some have class and character and some don’t.

Never ever thought I’d say this, but good riddance. Go Phins!!!

Jones was once a shining light for the Miami Dolphins

Reflect on what Reshad Jones did in 2015:

The fall from Grace for Jones

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