Five-year NFL veteran cornerback Byron Jones signed a massive contract with the Miami Dolphins. As of this posting, the exact financial details are not available to the public, but Ian Rapoport notes that the price is like $17 million per year or more. Jones, a UConn product, spent the entirety of his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys.
Update: ESPN’s Adam Schefter added the terms of the deal
Byron Jones’ new contract with the Dolphins will be a five-year, $82.5 million deal, including $57 million guaranteed, per source. It includes $40 million in first two years.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2020
Source: The #Dolphins are getting #Cowboys FA CB Byron Jones. A massive deal for the now highest-paid corner.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2020
Byron Jones Signs with XXXX
Byron Jones has spent his entire five year career with the Dallas Cowboys. Jones spent his first three seasons in Dallas playing primarily safety. In 2018, Jones moved exclusively to cornerback and immediately became one of the league’s best at the position. That season saw Jones receive second team all pro from the associated press and his first and only pro bowl selection.
In 2019, Jones was the 17th ranked cornerback by Pro Football Focus. He started 14 games for Dallas and accumulated 46 combined tackles. While he didn’t manage to intercept any passes, Jones did end the season with 6 passes defensed and a forced fumble. Jones’ breakout season was 2018. That season saw him grade out as the fifth best cornerback per Pro Football Focus. He allowed only 37 receptions to opposing receivers on 69 targets and had 14 passes defensed.
Jones entered the league as a first round draft pick in 2015 out of the University of Connecticut. Selected by the Dallas Cowboys as the 27th pick in the draft, he was a fast riser in the pre-draft process. Coming off of a shoulder injury, Jones set an NFL scouting combine record in the broad jump (12 feet, 3 inches). He also turned in an impressive vertical jump of 44.5 inches and a forty yard dash of 4.43 seconds. Before his performance at the combine, Jones was viewed as the 25th best cornerback in the draft. He ended up being the fifth corner taken.
For his career, Jones has played in 79 games with 73 starts for the Cowboys. In those contests he put up 349 combined tackles with 43 passes defensed. For his career he has three forced fumbles and two interceptions with one being returned 21 yards for a touchdown.
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