Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones was one select few veteran holdovers to survive the Dolphins’ roster purge of 2019. Jones has been a fixture with the team since 2009, when he was the 153rd overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. In the years that have passes since, Jones’ resume speaks for itself. Jones has logged 766 tackles, 21 interceptions, 55 passes defensed, 6 defensive touchdowns, 10.5 sacks and twice been named to the Pro Bowl.

If we’re all being honest, Jones’ Pro Bowl snubs remain one of the more blatant snuffs of Dolphins in recent memory. Jones’ 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons were all Pro Bowl worthy, yet he wasn’t named to his first game until 2015. All it took was 135 total tackles, 5 interceptions and 2 defensive touchdowns.

We’ve probably seen our last Pro Bowl with Jones in Miami. Heck, we’ve probably seen our last snap. Jones’ status as a holdover from the old regime to Brian Flores’ club in 2019 was dictated just as much by financials as it was anything else. Trade rumors swirls around Jones nearly the entire offseason — and with the gift of hindsight of who else Miami was willing to talk business on, there’s zero percent chance the team wasn’t fielding calls on Jones this spring and summer.

But Mike Tannenbaum’s contract extension and subsequent restructure for Jones made him impossible to trade. Jones’ cap hit this season, at 31-years of age, was a whopping $17.16M. And should Miami have decided to part ways with Jones, they’d be on the hook for $25.45M in dead cap space. Tannenbaum effectively deferred tens of millions of dollars into future years of Jones’ contract when the team chose to restructure his deal in the spring of 2018. All for less than $7M in cap space.

It’s unfortunate, but Jones’ status on the team is more of a mark of bad business from the previous regime than it is an indication of how Brian Flores and company may have coveted Jones’ leadership and experience on the field.

And with three more seasons left on Jones’ contract, Miami is certainly going to look to distance themselves from the oft-injured veteran who will be due $15.63M against the cap again next year. Jones’ dead cap hit next offseason will be just over $10M, a much easier to digest number when considering Miami will have in excess of $100M in available salary cap space to spend this spring in free agency.

The NFL is a pretty cut-throat business, one with little room for sentiment. Jones has given the Dolphins some tremendous plays over the years — but his time in Miami won’t be extended for his past deeds. Instead, it’s more than likely over due to the prior sins of past management.