Dolphins safety Reshad Jones returned to the team facility this week for a mandatory minicamp. Jones had skipped the voluntary offseason program.
“I’m excited to be back, excited to be here with my teammates,” Jones said, via video from Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “Learn the defense. There’s a lot of packages, a lot of stuff I’ve got to catch up to. But I’m excited about it.”
Jones faces an uncertain future with the Dolphins. He has a $17.2 million salary cap charge for 2019; he plays a position where Miami has depth; and he is not expected to be in the team’s long-term plans.
The Dolphins reportedly would prefer to trade him, but the chances of them finding adequate compensation in return seems a long shot at best. Instead, it seems more likely Jones plays this season in Miami before the Dolphins cut ties, with his salary and salary-cap numbers this season making his release pointless until the 2020 offseason.
Jones explained his absence, saying he wanted to rehab his shoulder and get his body right while working out with his personal trainer instead of at the team facility.
“Me and the coaches, we had communications [about his whereabouts],” Jones said. “I knew you guys have to write stories and stuff like that, but me and the coaches communicate. Voluntary means voluntary, so I took the time to get physically ready to play a 16-game stretch coming off shoulder surgery in February.”
Jones, 31, has made two Pro Bowls in his nine seasons. He started 13 games last season and made 72 tackles, three interceptions and nine pass breakups.
“I really don’t got to prove nothing to nobody,” Jones said. “I’ve been one of the best safeties in this league for a long time. I put the work in year in, year out. That’s my pattern. That’s what I do. Every year I put the work in. I post videos every year. It’s the same thing I do year in and year out.”