The Dolphins are making him NFL’s highest-paid CB. What will they get in Byron Jones?
In the span of about a month in early 2015, Byron Jones went from being a little-rated cornerback prospect out of the University of Connecticut to a bona fide first-round pick. Things like that happen when you set a world record (yes, a world record) with a 12-foot, 3-inch broad jump during the NFL’s annual Combine and complement it with a 44.5-inch vertical jump. A month later, the 6-foot, 199-pound NFL defender-to-be recorded a 4.36 40-yard dash at UConn’s Pro Day.
“It just says that I’m athletic,” Jones, who was eventually selected 27th overall by the Dallas Cowboys, said after his Pro Day. “At the end of the day, it’s all film study for the guys who are evaluating me. They want to see that you can run fast and jump high, but the biggest focus is the film. How did he do in college? How will it translate to the NFL?”
It turns out, he transitioned to the NFL just fine.
Fast forward to Monday, when the NFL’s “legal tampering” period ahead of free agency began, and Jones found himself on his way to becoming the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. Things like that happen with five years of consistency in the league and when the team signing you has money to spend.
After spending the first half decade of his professional football career in Dallas, Jones is now on his way to Miami, with the Dolphins set to sign him to a five-year, $82.5 million contract that includes $57 million guaranteed, according to ESPN. It’s a front-loaded deal that will pay Jones $40 million in the first two seasons. It surpasses the five-year, $76.5 million deal the Dolphins gave Xavien Howard in May.
Jones thanked the Cowboys, including owner Jerry Jones, strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik and his teammates in an Instagram post on Monday.
“My success came on the coattails of your excellence on the field,” the post reads in part. “I’ll miss the hell outta you maniacs but I’ll be rooting for you guys from afar. Continue to prosper and I’ll do the same.”
Jones, 27, certainly has prospered to this point in his NFL career.
The defensive back tallied 349 tackles and 44 defended passes over his five seasons with the Cowboys. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2018 after recording 67 tackles and breaking up 14 passes. He played all 1,019 of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps that season.
And while his overall takeaways have been few and far between — Jones has just two interceptions in 79 career games (73 starts) — he has excelled in most other defensive metrics.
Opponents have completed just 76 of 144 passes last two years against Jones the last two years for 981 yards and five touchdowns. That’s a 52.8 percent completion rate and 6.8 yards per attempt.
Pro Football Focus ranked him the 14th-best cornerback in the league last year.
“He’s out there by himself a lot and he simply guards guys week in and week out,” former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said in 2018.
But Jones became a victim of a Cowboys cap problem. Dallas applied the franchise tag on quarterback Dak Prescott and is finalizing a five-year, $100 million contract with wide receiver Amari Cooper.
That left Jones expendable.
“He’s played really well, played at a high level and that’s the hard thing when you have quite a few good players on your football team: You get challenges,” Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said in February, according to USA Today. “Byron understands that. But at the same time, he’s worried about Byron, as he should be.”
Enter the Dolphins, who came into free agency with close to $100 million in cap space and needs all over the field after going 5-11 in Year 1 under coach Brian Flores.
Miami pounced on Jones, who right now is slated to start opposite Howard and be part of a secondary that also includes Bobby McCain and Eric Rowe at safety.
The Dolphins also beefed up their defense with the additions of edge rusher Kyle Van Noy, linebacker Shaq Lawson and defensive end Emanuel Ogbah. Offensive lineman Ereck Flowers is also coming to Miami on a multi-year deal.
That on paper is marked improvement for a Dolphins defense that finished last in the NFL in scoring defense (30.9) and sacks (23) as well as 30th in yards allowed per game (397.8).
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 11:47 AM.
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