Byron Jones took one for the team this week, restructuring his deal to help Miami afford Tyreek Hill (acquired from the Chiefs in exchange for five draft picks) while staying under the league’s $208.2-million salary cap. Jones, who at one point was the NFL’s highest-paid defensive back, had a sense of humor about it, joking that his reward for converting most of his 2022 base salary into a signing bonus will be getting burned by Hill at practice this year.
You can understand Jones’ existential dread at having to cover Hill on a daily basis. Jones has only faced him twice in his career (once as a Cowboy and again as a Dolphin in 2020), but neither encounter went well with Hill scoring three touchdowns on 184 yards from scrimmage in those two meetings.
Opposing secondaries will have their hands full this year defending Miami’s one-two punch of Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who set an NFL rookie record with 104 catches last season. Along with bolstering their receiving corps with Hill, the Dolphins also made a significant investment on their offensive line, outbidding teams for Pro Bowl tackle Terron Armstead in free agency.
Despite persistent whispers of Bucs veteran Tom Brady potentially forcing his way to Miami in a trade, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport doesn’t see that as a likely possibility.
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