Off-Season Rumors: Dolphins Interested in Adam Jones?

Mike Garafalo of Fox Sports (courtesy of ESPN.com) believes Adam Jones will receive interest from several NFL teams during free agency, with one of the most obvious landing spots being the Miami Dolphins. Mike's original article goes into specifics about Adam Jones' career and how he's different from most CB veterans at this stage in the game. This does not appear to be one of those rumors that came from someone in the Dolphins organization, but rather a "rumor of best fit." One could argue that the rumor began with Adam Jones himself:

• "I would think V.J. would be interested," Jones said. "He's taught me a lot and he knows I know everything in the system. He knows I'm a football guy. If I'm a betting man, I would think he'd try to bring me in there."

Why This Makes Sense:

There are a variety of reasons this move would make sense for Miami, perhaps the most important being Jones' rapport with new Dolphins Defensive Coordinator, Vance Joseph (V.J.). He would know the defense, and instantly become the most knowledgeable person in the secondary regarding Joseph's scheme. Jones has 3 INT's in each of the past 3 years; he also has 2 forced fumbles, 35 pass deflections, got a sack of dank chronic, and returned an INT for a TD during this 3-year time span. PFF ranked him as the 15th best CB in the NFL in 2015 with a grade of 83.3. He can also return kickoffs and punts, which might save Jarvis Landry from having to do literally everything.

I forgot to mention that the Dolphins secondary also happens to suck right now.

We could use talent however we get it, and it's likely that Jones will have a non-flamboyant price tag as he will be 33 towards the beginning of the 2016 NFL season. Jones' last 3 years under Vance Joseph has arguably been his 3 best performances of his career, so despite his age, it doesn't appear that his body of work is deteriorating. We could likely sign him to a reasonable 2-3 year contract and increase the talent of the secondary without spending the farm. Jones appears to be in great football shape and has the savvy to improve our pass defense.

Why This Doesn't Make Sense:

From Jones' perspective, it may not make sense to take his talents to South Beach: the Dolphins are (clears throat because of imminent embarrassing news)...not...that...good. Jones' block quote above definitely seems like someone amenable to coming to Miami, but if he has 4 other suitors, and any of those teams have a chance to get in the Playoffs and/or Super Bowl, that would be tough to turn down if the money is comparable.

The biggest drawback from the Dolphins' perspective is Jones' personae. He's been suspended on a couple of occasions; he was a part of the infamous Playoffs scuffle with the Pittsburgh Steelers; he's not exactly hesitant about talking to the media. If this were Fallopian Tube Philbin's team, not a chance in Hell would Jones be on this roster. Hopefully new Head Coach Adam Gase has the ability to handle an alpha personality or two on the squad without quivering in the corner and peeing on himself.

What are the Chances?

I'd give the potential for this move at 7/10. In other words, it's more likely than not to happen, but not necessarily set in stone. In truth, this may be wishful thinking as I sincerely desire the Dolphins to mask some of our weaknesses with free agency moves that are fiscally responsible. I think the most likely scenario is that either Jones sticks with Cincinnati or comes to Miami. There's not a ton of CB talent in the free agency pool; the Dolphins also have a plethora of holes to fill on defense and the OL. Unfortunately, not all those holes can be plugged in one off-season. Signing Jones could allow us to focus on other positions of need in the 1st round, and invest in CB on Day 2 or Day 3 of the NFL Draft. We could potentially have a depth chart of Grimes/Jones/Tony Lippett/Bobby McCain/Day 2 rookie going into 2016, which wouldn't scare anyone, but would be an improvement from 2015. Jones may even provide a cheaper replacement to Brent Grimes, depending on how the front office sees Grimes' skill/money interplay - catapulting Lippett, McCain, or a rookie/another FA into the starting lineup.

Adam Jones is kind of obnoxious, but I think he could definitely help the Miami Dolphins secondary. More importantly, what do YOU think? Would you be OK with Adam Jones coming to Miami in free agency? Let's hear it!