The long, complicated dance between the Miami Dolphins and safety Reshad Jones has left a lot of questions and skepticism. The Dolphins would have understandably had an axe to grind with Jones after his incident last season — Jones was pulled from a contest as part of a previously planned rotation of players and refused to reenter against the New York Jets.

But the other guilty party in this equation is Adam Gase, who has moved on to New York to coach the Jets. By the time Brian Flores entered the picture, the Dolphins were clearly getting ready for a transitional season and the speculation of Miami’s need and value of Jones was running rampant. Then came the trades of Robert Quinn, Ryan Tannehill and the departures of other key contributors in free agency. This did nothing but to feed the fire, especially once Jones opted to not attend the team’s voluntary spring workouts.

But this narrative has quickly shifted and more and more evidence is supporting Jones and the Dolphins genuinely do want to make things work. Jones arrived in great shape for mandatory workouts and publicly said he wanted to remain in Miami. Of course he’d say that in the public eye — but did he really mean it?

A report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald supports Jones’ claim.

“What Reshad Jones said publicly — that he would like to remain with the Dolphins — is reflective of how he genuinely feels, according to a source,” wrote Jackson. “Jones and coach Brian Flores have built a solid relationship and the likelihood is he will be on the team.”

The significant salary price tag for Jones surely diminished whatever trade value he may have had — and considering the Dolphins do want to be competitive in 2019 and will likely use a bevy of defensive backs along the way, the marriage has value for the Dolphins.

Props to Brian Flores to pivoting a potentially toxic situation and smoothing over any doubt with one of his team’s best players.

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