Dolphins CB Byron Jones: ‘I can’t run or jump’ because of injuries from NFL
In his first public comments since undergoing leg surgery and missing the entirety of the 2022 NFL season, Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones on Saturday said he “can’t run or jump because of my injuries sustained playing this game.”
In a pair of tweets, Jones said: “Much has changed in 8 years. Today I can’t run or jump because of my injuries sustained playing this game. DO NOT take the pills they give you. DO NOT take the injections they give you. If you absolutely must, consult an outside doctor to learn the long-term implications.
“It was an honor and privilege to play in the NFL but it came at a regrettable cost I did not foresee. In my opinion, no amount of professional success or financial gain is worth avoidable chronic pain and disabilities. Godspeed to the draft class of 2023.”
Last March, Jones, 30, underwent surgery on his leg, a procedure that a source told the Miami Herald wasn’t supposed to keep him out of training camp. But summer sessions opened and Jones was continuing to rehab. On multiple occasions, head coach Mike McDaniel expressed confidence Jones would return to the field but ruled him out for the season in December.
In an end-of-season news conference, general manager Chris Grier said Jones “did everything he could to try and play so no qualms with that at all.” Grier, however, did not answer a question regarding whether Jones intended to continue playing and whether he would remain in Miami for the 2023 season.
“The season just ended. We’re not there yet,” he said in January. “After the tough loss yesterday, we’re kind of licking our wounds and just going about our process and we’ll meet with the coaching staff here, trainers and doctors to talk about every player on the roster.”
Jones is not retiring and there is no pending lawsuit over the handling of his injury, a source said.
In 2020, the Dolphins signed Jones to a five-year, $82.5 million deal, including $57 million guaranteed, that at the time made him the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback. Jones has played in 30 of a possible 50 games in Miami, recording 95 tackles, two interceptions and 14 pass deflections.
Jones’ offseason surgery kicked in an injury guarantee for his $14.4 million base salary in 2022 but he later restructured his deal and converted $13 million of the base salary into a signing bonus that freed $10 million for the Dolphins. He has an $18,351,000 cap hit for the 2023 season but none of his $13.5 million base salary is guaranteed. Miami also added void years — which do not extend the contract and are used as placeholders for the prorated bonus — in 2025 and 2026 to spread out his bonus.
A pre-June 1 cut or trade would give Miami a cap savings of $3,547,000 and a dead money $14,804,000 charge — and finding a willing trade partner may be a tough ask in itself given Jones’ injury status. A post-June 1 cut or trade would give the Dolphins a cap savings of $13.6 million with a dead cap charge of only $4,751,000 — but the team wouldn’t be able to use the cap space until way past the first waves of free agency.
Jones retiring would relieve the Dolphins of having to pay his base salary and any roster bonus that is due for the remainder of the contract. But the remaining signing bonus proration would immediately count on the 2023 cap. According to Over the Cap, there is a remaining signing bonus proration of $14.8 million on Jones’ contract, which would apply to the 2023 cap if he retired.
In the case of retirement, the Dolphins could also release Jones with a post-June 1 designation and spread out the remaining cap hit over two years, while receiving the cap relief in 2023.
Jones’ injury was one of many that stifled the Dolphins’ cornerback depth in 2022. Trill Williams sustained a season-ending injury in the preseason opener and Mackensie Alexander was released last summer with an injury settlement. Nik Needham, a pending unrestricted free agent, also sustained a season-ending Achilles injury in October.
This story was originally published February 25, 2023 at 1:28 PM.
