The tweets posted on Saturday by Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones created the clear impression that he’s unable to play football. Which could mean he’s done playing football.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Jones isn’t retiring. Jackson adds that the “general expectation” is that Jones will be cut, given that he has a non-guaranteed salary (per NFLPA records) of $13,5 million.
It’s important that Jones, a first-round pick of the Cowboys in 2015, not retire. If he does, he’d potentially owe the Dolphins $4.2 million in signing bonus money he received in 2020. So he just needs to wait to be released.
If he simply can’t play, he eventually will be.
In all, his current contract carries $14.8 million in dead cap money. If the Dolphins cut Jones with a post-June 1 designation, they’d eat $4.75 million this year, and the remaining $10.05 million in 2024.
The bottom line is if he can’t play, he won’t be playing. But the label applied to his disengagement from the team has significant potential meaning.