Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones issued tweets on Saturday that seemed to indicate that his NFL career could be coming to an end. Despite that, it looks like Jones won’t be retiring.
A new report indicates that Jones isn’t planning on walking away from football, though his days with the Dolphins are likely numbered.
In wake of today's tweets… Byron Jones is not retiring and there's no pending lawsuit, per source. With his 14.4 M salary non guaranteed, the general expectation is he will be cut by Dolphins with post June 1 designation. But nothing has been settled on that front.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) February 25, 2023
While Jones is not expected to retire, one can only wonder what his future holds in the league. If he truly cannot run or jump as one of his recent tweets indicated, it seems likely that he’ll have no interest in trying to join another team if and when his time with the Dolphins ends.
Shortly after Jones posted his tweets regarding his health, Dolphins teammate Tyreek Hill issued a message of love for him.
I had fun beating you in ping pong this year love brother ✌🏿 https://t.co/mHGYTdqYpu
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) February 25, 2023
With the end of Jones’ Dolphins tenure likely around the corner, it seems that the cornerback position is going to become an even bigger area for the team’s front office to focus on this offseason. A rash of injuries during the 2022 campaign — including Jones’ — left Miami’s defensive backfield as a serious liability for much of the season.
So, even though the Dolphins are expected to return some key players in the 2023 season, they may still want to find some talent to add to the position group.
The team will likely consider options via trade and free agency as well as the draft. As Dolphins fans know quite well, the team has very few assets heading into the 2023 NFL Draft.
At one point, the Dolphins had two first-round picks to be used in the upcoming draft. However, they lost one for tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton, and they then traded away the other pick in their midseason acquisition of Bradley Chubb.
Now, they are left with just five total picks and none on Day 1 of the event. The good news is that this season’s draft class is incredibly deep at the corner position.
Only time will tell if the Dolphins decide to spend one or more of their picks to try to strengthen that position group.
