Reshad Jones contract restructured, giving Dolphins $6.6 million in space

The Miami Dolphins have had a busy NFL free agency period this year, and free agency has not even officially started as of yet. The team has created salary cap space with releases and trades, and now with at least one contract restructuring. According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Dolphins have reworked the contract for safety Reshad Jones.

Jones signed a four-year, $48 million contract with Miami in 2017, extending the contract he originally signed as a rookie in 2010, then extended in 2013. The 2017 extension provided $33 million in guarantees including a $9 million signing bonus. That extension lowered Jones’ 2017 cap number from $8 million to $3.7 million.

This restructuring makes a similar move with Jones’ salary. Instead of the $11.6 million cap number Jones was expected to have in 2018, the Dolphins will now carry around $5 million against the cap for the two-time Pro Bowl safety. Yates breaks down the changes to Jones’ contract, with the base salary of $9.375 million reduced to $970,000, but providing a $4.05 million signing bonus for Jones. That bonus will allow Miami to prorate the $4.05 million across the four years, including 2018, remaining on Jones’ contract.

Miami will add around $6.6 million in cap space with the move.

The salary cap numbers for Jones in the future should be around $16 million in 2019, $14.4 million in 2020, and $13.3 million in 2021. Those numbers could change depending on what else is included in the new contract.

The Dolphins are clearly looking to rework their entire roster this offseason. shedding players who did not reach their potential with the club, or who have monster contracts that the team decided they need to remove. They are looking to add to their salary cap space in an effort to provide room to add some free agents, which will likely include wide receivers Albert Wilson and Danny Amendola on Wednesday.