The Miami Dolphins suffered through a difficult season in 2015. Head coach Joe Philbin didn't last through the first week of October, was followed out the door shortly thereafter by defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle and eventually by offensive coordinator Bill Lazor as well. And while the Dolphins' problems certainly affected both sides of the ball, it was the defense that may have been the biggest let down.
Despite the team spending considerable sums of money on Coyle's unit, mostly in the form of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, almost immediately reports began to emerge that the Dolphins defenders were unhappy and Coyle's schemes did not fit the talent in place.
One of the few bright spots through it all for Miami was safety Reshad Jones. Jones, a former fifth-round pick out of Georgia, matched or surpassed career highs in just about every meaningful statistical category last year, his sixth in the league.
He apparently noticed. Now, on the eve of offseason work for the upcoming 2016 NFL season, Jones has reportedly made it clear that he feels his production last season and the years prior warrants a contract upgrade.
He has informed the team that he will be staying away from Dolphins work - the non-mandatory variety, at least - until his contract is addressed.
To Jones' credit, with 135 tackles, two sacks, five interceptions and 10 passes defended in 2015, he seemingly showed the struggling Dolphins that he, more than many of his other Miami brethren, was worth keeping around long-term, was worth building around in the way that the team had tried to do with Suh.
But with a new head coach in Adam Gase and football czar Mike Tannenbaum taking on a more centralized role in player personnel, it's a new world in Miami. And while the Dolphins' two top men would probably prefer that Jones remain happy and content in Miami, it sure sounds like Gase isn't interested in haggling with the former Bulldog.
"We'll see how things go when we get to June," Gase said Tuesday.
What he means, of course, is he's willing to wait and see if Jones continues to hold out once those practices and training sessions become mandatory and tens of thousands of dollars start to disappear from Jones' paycheck.
Jones remains under contract for 2016 and 2017 at cap hits of $8.2 million and $8.03 million. That he'd want an upgrade and some more financial security at age 28 makes sense, but it sure sounds like Gase and Tannenbaum won't just be forking over more guaranteed cash any time soon.
