Reshad Jones Contract: Latest News, Rumors on Negotiations with Dolphins

Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones is reportedly planning to sit out the team's offseason program unless the sides reach an agreement on a contract extension.  

Continue for updates.

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Jones' Contract Demands Revealed 

Tuesday, April 26

Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reported Jones wants a contract comparable to those given to fellow safeties Eric Berry and Earl Thomas, which are between $10 million and $11 million per year.

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports Jones isn't "content" with his current deal. He's got two years left on the contract with a base salary of $7.225 million for 2016 and $7.06 million for 2017 and a signing bonus slightly under $1 million for both seasons, per Spotrac.

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Gase Comments on Jones' Potential Holdout

Tuesday, April 26

"We'll see how things go when we get to June," Dolphins head coach Adam Gase told reporters when asked about Jones potentially missing the offseason workouts.

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Jones Hoping to Cash In on Career Year

The 28-year-old safety is coming off a career year in Miami. He racked up 135 combined tackles, 10 passes defended, five interceptions and two touchdowns for the franchise that selected him in the fifth round of the 2010 draft.

His tackle total ranked fourth in the NFL and represented a 28-tackle improvement over his previous career high set in 2013.

It doesn't come as a surprise that he'd want to rework his contract coming off such a productive campaign. The question is whether the Dolphins are willing to oblige given the fact that he already ranks fourth among the league's safeties based on 2016 cap hits, according to Spotrac.

But Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald pointed out that it's a savvy leverage play by the veteran given the team's limited depth at the position:

Spotrac lists the Dolphins as having a shade under $12 million in remaining cap space for next season. So it's possible the front office could get creative by giving him a lot of guaranteed money up front and tacking on a few additional years to make him happy without creating a serious future cap problem.

One other factor always in play in these situations is precedent. Some teams are hesitant to negotiate with players who still have multiple years left on their current deals because it opens the door for other players to make the same move in the future.

All told, the situation is an interesting test for new general manager Chris Grier. Jones is a crucial piece of the team's defense, but he's already paid well by safety standards. It could turn into an extended staredown heading into the summer.