Breer On Cowboys, Hardy, Jordan, Manning
Last year, the Cowboys added Greg Hardy on a one-year, incentive laden deal. That bold move gave Dallas one of the most feared defensive linemen in the NFL, but also gave them one of the league’s biggest headaches and PR nightmares. Still, after dealing with Hardy’s down year and bad attitude, Jerry Jones says that he isn’t necessarily changing his approach going forward. 
“We’ve taken risks,” Jones told The MMQB’s Albert Breer. “It was a huge risk to take (Charles) Haley back (in the ’90s). Haley was a cancer on the Niners, and that’s why they gave him to us for next to nothing. Dez (Bryant) was a risk. Dez was a Top 5 pick that fell because he was a risk. And in the end, you win on some, you lose on some. That’s a little piece of how you succeed in business. You have to take chances.”
The Cowboys, of course, have publicly ruled out a Hardy reunion. Despite all of his baggage, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked Hardy as one of the best defensive free agents to remain on the board at this juncture of the offseason. There has been very little talk about Hardy lately, but we recently ran down some teams that could at least consider signing the defensive end.
Here’s more from Breer’s column:
- Defensive end Dion Jordan insists that he’s drug-free as he looks to return to the Dolphins, but people who were around him over his first two years tell Breer that they’d first be looking to see what condition his shoulder is in. Prior to being taken No. 3 overall in the 2013 draft, Jordan’s shoulder was flagged, so it has been an issue for some time. If things work out well, however, Breer feels that Jordan could be a big part of the team’s future on the defensive line. Cameron Wake is 34 and Mario Williams is 31, so the team will need a youth injection in the coming years.
- Word has it that Peyton Manning will wind up in a John Elway-type executive role at some point in the next few years. Because Manning is hoping to work in someone’s front office, Breer hears that he could be more willing to help the NFL’s investigation into the allegations levied against him in the Al Jazeera report last December. Manning said that he would sue Al Jazeera for what he deemed to be false claims against him, but he recently decided against taking action.
- Breer believes that Von Miller and Eric Berry will wind up getting multi-year deals done with their respective teams. Unsurprisingly, he does not see a deal happening for Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson.
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Dolphins Notes: Drake, Tunsil
- Running back Kenyan Drake suffered an injury scare on Wednesday, but he’ll be ready for the start of training camp, Dolphins coach Adam Gase tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. On Wednesday evening, Drake formally signed his rookie contract. He’s expected to be Miami’s No. 2 back behind Jay Ajayi.
- In other Dolphins news, veteran Dallas Thomas is starting ahead of first-round pick Laremy Tunsil at guard, at least thus far in practice, writes Jackson in a separate column. “You’ve got to earn your spot,” said Gase, who, it should be noted, did downplay the importance of who is starting at this point in the year. “I don’t think you’ve seen anyone get plugged in and anointed anything. Everybody’s battling. That’s what we want.”
Dolphins Waive Logan Thomas, Charles Tuaau
- Former fourth-round quarterback Logan Thomas has been waived by his second organization, as the Dolphins cut him loose earlier today, along with defensive tackle Charles Tuaau, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets. Thomas spent the 2014 season with the Cardinals before they too deemed Thomas too raw for the NFL.
Dolphins Sign Drake, Wrap Up Draft Class
The Dolphins officially signed third-round pick Kenyan Drake today, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. Drake was previously the last unsigned rookie in Miami’s 2016 class, so the Dolphins now have every rookie under contract. 
Drake’s signing marked a rather eventful day for the rookie running back. In practice on Wednesday afternoon, Drake suffered a hamstring injury during a special teams drill. At this time, there is no definitive word on his status. The Dolphins are keeping their figures crossed that Drake is alright since he figures to be an important part of their backfield in both the future and present. The Dolphins will start Jay Ajayi at running back this year but Drake has been trumped up as the clear-cut No. 2 option. Behind Ajayi and the Alabama product, the Dolphins also have Damien Williams, Daniel Thomas, and Isaiah Pead on the roster. If Drake’s injury is serious, Miami may circle back to the likes of Arian Foster as they weigh their depth options.
The biggest name in the Dolphins draft class, of course, is first-round pick Laremy Tunsil. The Ole Miss product was considered a virtual lock to go in the top seven picks before his social media accounts were hacked just minutes prior to the start of the draft. While the Ravens and other teams passed on the opportunity to take the the 6’5″, 315 pound lineman, the Dolphins were delighted to have him fall to No. 13.
Here is the complete rundown of the Dolphins’ 2016 rookie class:
- 1-13: Laremy Tunsil, T (Ole Miss)
- 2-38: Xavien Howard, CB (Baylor)
- 3-73: Kenyan Drake, RB (Alabama)
- 3-86: Leonte Carroo, WR (Rutgers)
- 6-186: Jakeem Grant, WR (Texas Tech)
- 6-204: Jordan Lucas, DB (Penn State)
- 7-223: Brandon Doughty, QB (Western Kentucky)
- 7-231: Thomas Duarte, TE (UCLA)
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Latest On Dolphins, Dion Jordan
On Tuesday, one report claimed that the Dolphins are skeptical about Dion Jordan‘s commitment to football and perhaps his overall wellness as he looks to return. Jordan, who was banned from the league in 2015 due to his latest violation of league substance abuse policy, was eligible to apply for reinstatement in late April but did not get the ball rolling until June, which raise eyebrows in Miami. 
[RELATED: Reshad Jones Reports To Dolphins Minicamp]
The account from Omar Kelly of The Sun Sentinel indicated that the Dolphins could consider moving on from the former No. 3 overall pick or, at the very least, negotiate with him to reduce or eliminate his upcoming ~$1.7MM roster bonus. For what it’s worth, Jordan’s agent tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the league is ready to welcome his client back and the league office will almost certainly green light his return by the end of July.
“I feel very strongly he will be reinstated without question,” agent Doug Hendrickson said. “He’s done everything he has been asked to do. We feel very good where we’re at. We expect Dion to start training camp with the Dolphins…They are excited to have him back. Every team wants top talent.”
Jordan is slated to earn $600K in base salary and is due a $1.69MM signing bonus if he’s on the roster on the fifth day of training camp. Hendrickson seems to believe that Jordan is virtually guaranteed to have a place with the Dolphins in 2016, though he’s not sure where he’ll be used in the front seven. The Dolphins could keep Jordan at his original defensive end position or they could shift him to linebacker. Jackson notes that despite the team’s defensive end depth, DE might be the way to go for this year since there would be a steep learning curve in changing positions after spending a year away from the team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Reshad Jones Reports To Dolphins Minicamp
11:30am: Speaking to reporters today, Jones said that the holdout is “behind him” and it’s now “all about football” (Twitter link via Armando Salugero of The Miami Herald). Furthermore, the safety said he will not hold out from training camp.
Recently, it was reported that Jones was mulling the idea of an in-season holdout if he did not get a pay raise, but it seems unlikely that Jones will go that route if he is committing to show for training camp.
9:19am: Reshad Jones‘ practice boycott is over, at least for now. After skipping out on the first day of June’s mandatory minicamp, the safety is in the building today, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (via Twitter). 
[RELATED: Dolphins Skeptical Of Dion Jordan’s Situation?]
Today marks Jones’ first appearance at the Dolphins’ practice facility as he also stayed away from voluntary OTAs in May. Despite having two years remaining on his current contract, the 28-year-old is pushing to renegotiate the terms. After earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 2015, Jones apparently feels like now is the time to strike.
He is ostensibly looking to be paid like one of the top safeties in the NFL, but that will be quite the uphill battle for him since strong safeties are not paid as highly as free safeties. As far as strong safeties go, Jones is actually the highest paid one in the NFL, so long as you count him as a free safety these days. As it stands today, Jones is slated to earn base salaries of $7.225MM in 2016 and $7.06MM in 2017, with cap hits of $8.203MM and $8.038MM, respectively.
While Jones continues to pout, the Dolphins have been publicly upbeat about the group of safeties that have been participating this offseason. Of course, they’d much rather have Jones in the fold and they’d like to avoid the in-season holdout that he is reportedly mulling. However, caving into those threats and reworking Jones’ deal with two years to go would set a bad precedent for the team going forward. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Dolphins hold their ground and force Jones to play out the ’16 season on his current deal before discussing a new one.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dolphins Skeptical Of Dion Jordan?
- Omar Kelly of The Sun Sentinel wonders if the Dolphins should balk at paying Dion Jordan‘s ~$1.7MM bonus. Word has it that the Dolphins are open to giving Jordan another chance, but sources tell Kelly that the team was curious about the timing of Jordan’s bid for reinstatement. The former No. 3 overall pick was eligible to apply for reinstatement in late April but he didn’t kickstart the process until June. Jordan is due his hefty roster bonus on the fifth day of training camp and the Dolphins might not be inclined to pay it if Jordan isn’t truly committed to football. Kelly suggests that Miami could push Jordan to re-work the contract and have the roster bonus moved or even eliminated since he would be unlikely to command that same kind of money on the open market.
Reshad Jones To Holdout Through Minicamp
Dolphins safety Reshad Jones‘ holdout is expected to continue through minicamp, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Jones, who skipped all of the team’s OTAs, will face fines if he follows through with his minicamp boycott. The news doesn’t come as a huge surprise after word leaked out that Jones is mulling a hold out for the entire 2016 season. If Jones takes his holdout into the regular season, he’ll lose roughly $400K per game. 
[RELATED: Latest On Dolphins, Arian Foster]
Jones set new career-highs in tackles (135), passes defended (10), and interceptions (five) last season. PFF ranked Jones as the 13th-best safety in the NFL in 2015, and of the 89 qualified safeties, only two received higher grades as run defenders than Jones did. Still, one has to wonder if Jones is overplaying his hand with Miami.
Jones has two years remaining on his deal and stands as either the league’s highest paid or second highest-paid strong safety, depending on how you classify Chiefs star Eric Berry. Generally speaking, strong safeties are not paid as highly as their counterparts in the secondary. Jones, who earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2015, is on the books for base salaries of $7.225MM in 2016 and $7.06MM in 2017, with accompanying cap hits of $8.203MM and $8.038MM, respectively.
Last year, Kam Chancellor was in a contract standoff with the Seahawks before finally reporting to the team during Week Three. Chancellor‘s holdout cost him $1.1MM in fines, $500K in signing-bonus forfeiture, and about $534K in lost salary for a total of about $2.134MM in potential lost earnings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest on Reshad Jones, Dolphins
If Reshad Jones were to make good on his threat to hold out for the entire 2016 season, the Dolphins would of course be worse off for it. But just how realistic is Jones’ threat? According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, not very.
Jackson himself said it would be surprising if Jones were to extend his contract protest into the season, but Jackson adds that even a source close to Jones concedes that Miami has no incentive to re-do a deal that pays the Georgia product $7.2MM and $7.1MM over the next two seasons. That contract makes him the highest-paid strong safety in the NFL, but does not place him among the five highest-paid safeties overall.
If the worst-case scenario comes to fruition and Jones does not report to the team, Jackson says that free agents Antrel Rolle and Louis Delmas are on the Dolphins’ list of contingency plans. Neither option, however, is exactly ideal. Delmas, of course, has been with Miami for each of the past two seasons, and in 2014 he started 12 games for the Fins, racking up 60 tackles and an interception (which he returned for a touchdown), and ranking as a league-average safety per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. But he tore his right ACL towards the end of the 2014 campaign, and he tore that same ACL during practice last August, thereby ending his 2015 season before it even began. Delmas has always shown high-level talent, but his inability to stay healthy throughout his career and the severity of his most recent injuries have left the 29-year-old unemployed for the time being.
Rolle, meanwhile, spent the 2015 season with the Bears after spending the first five years of his career with the Cardinals and the next five with the Giants. Per PFF, he graded out as the 39th-best safety in the league last season (out of 89 qualifiers), and the biggest knock against him at this point is his age. He is now 33, and he played in only seven games last season after suffering a knee injury during a November practice. He has had a long and productive career, however, and the rangy safety–whom our Dallas Robinson lists as the eighth-best defensive free agent still on the market–could be a nice fit in Miami.
Needless to say, though, the Dolphins would rather have Jones, who set new career-highs in tackles (135), passes defended (10), and interceptions (five), last season. PFF ranked Jones as the 13th-best safety in the NFL in 2015, and of the 89 qualified safeties, only two received higher grades as run defenders than Jones did. As of right now, it seems that Jones will report to the club rather than hold out, but the Dolphins do have a Plan B just in case.
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Tunsil Not Yet Contacted By NFL About Video; Bottom Of WR Depth Chart Unsettled
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the NFL has not yet contacted Dolphins rookie left tackle Laremy Tunsil about the now-infamous bong video that precipitated Tunsil’s fall in April’s draft. As Florio notes, however, the league could come calling any day.
- The top of the Dolphins‘ wide receiver depth chart is largely settled, but there is some intrigue among a few of the less-heralded players on the roster, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. Barring injury, Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, and Leonte Carroo will be the club’s top four wideouts, but rookie Jakeem Grant, despite being a raw route-runner, has flashed in OTAs, and players like Griff Whalen and Matt Hazel also have their supporters among the Dolphins’ coaching staff.