The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

https://phinphanatic.com/2022/11/12/miami-dolphins-need-byron-jones-back-but-it-may-not-be-their-decision/

This is just the writer's opinion so take it for what it's worth, but if Byron was sprinting before Week 5 warmups, then he has to be healed by now. Combine that with McDaniels not knowing at all when he will return and sounding like it's up to Byron and it looks like a contract holdout.

I know his contract is an albatross and there is no easy way out, but we can't give in. He has quit on the team because someone else got a little more money. At this stage in his career, he isn't worth it.

I don't understand the contract angle. Even the author says it's unlikely (I read the article the other day and found it rambling and incoherent).

Jones has been paid an ungodly amount of money ($40 million) and while he has no guaranteed money left on the deal, he's pretty much impossible to cut for next season. That *effectively* makes his salary for next season guaranteed. The ONLY way he risks this guaranteed salary is by being a total ass and not playing when he can.

Okay, you say, but what if he feels he could get more money elsewhere? To that I can bull. He's set to earn a $13.5 million base salary and another half a freaking million a week in roster bonus. That's $22 million, plus a bit in various incentives. The same deal for 2024.

Where is a 30 (now) year old cornerback who's been out for a year going to get more than that?

Take a look at the top contacts for cornerbacks in the league. The highest value contact averages $21 million a year! Only ONE cornerback has a cap hit of over $20 million (Ramsey) this year.

If he wanted to maximize his money and he actually could play, he would be out there on Sundays. There is no better deal for him. Had he been playing at a really high level this year, he could probably have swung a restructuring that would have given him more guaranteed money, but no one is going to do that now.

^^^

These are all fair points, but when you remove the likely from the equation, only the unlikely remains. The likely is that he is still hurt and I find that the hardest to believe considering where he was in Week 5, the nature of the injury and the cluelessness of McDaniel when asked about his return.

So, that leaves the unlikely and his ego is hurt and he still wants to be the top guy even though he isn't. To be fair, Xavien basically got a big contract, Byron surprassed it and then X wanted a better contract a year later because of it. May not be too hard to believe Byron wants something similar.

It's just a bizarre situation and after the Fuller thing last year, a personality problem can't be ruled out.

The last bit of news I saw was that it was an Achilles injury, and he was expected to be available after the bye.

Even relatively minor Achilles strains can be very painful and take a very long time to heal - especially as you get older. That could be where it's so tricky to judge his real progress.

I'm not sure he really has much leverage in regard to his contract - X has clearly been the (much) better corner when they have played together.

He had surgery to repair it in March. No one knows why he waited so long after the season to have it done and now no one knows why he isn't playing. Joe Rose beats this topic up every week and if they knew what was going on he'd certainly know.

What we do know ...

Doctors said he could be back by the end of training camp. That got pushed back by 4 weeks. He was jogging during week 5 and now no one has heard a thing so they are left only to assumtions.

As Joe Rose points out doctors have seen pretty much every injury and can nail down a timeline. Elite athletes typically heal faster than the average person. As it is we are going on 11 weeks or 2.5 months past when doctors thought he would be playing. It could be because of some weird contract thing but no one knows that and I'd think the Dolphins would have leaked it to make him look bad.

Just a reminder that jogging or even sprinting is not the same thing as being able to push off an achilles which is absolutely mandatory for a CB who does a lot of time back peddaling and then having to stop and go forward. You can't get away with 80% on an achilles heel issue with a CB.

This is true, but if 5 weeks ago you were sprinting, almost a 100% chance you are healed now. If he wasn't, the team would say that definitively and they aren't. They are giving non-answers and saying they don't know. That's not how you discuss medical injuries.

And he's probably fully healed now, maybe even close to 100% physically to where he was before the injury, but there's still the mental part about "testing" it. It's scary to try testing something that was just injured. So yes, it might be mental, but it's not necessarily the mental where he's just trying to get paid for nothing. I think it's probably a lot more the mental part of getting over an injury, which can be tricky.

This...definitely.

I destroyed my foot and ankle in 1989. Broke the ankle and foot in 19 places, and tore three ligaments right out of the top of my foot. I had 4 surgeries, and then was in a cast and moon boot for 14 months afterwards. Even though the doctors told me I'd be able to run again 3-4 months after the moon boot was finally taken off, my mind just wouldn't do it. It took me a full year afterward to even jog on it again.

I can buy into this theory, but if this were true, then McDaniel and others should be handling it better because the vibe I am getting is that Byron doesn't want to be there. Now, if Byron was just mentally not ready, the team should help cover for him and talk about the process. I'm just not getting that but maybe it's me.

Angling for a better contract doesn't make much sense.  Why would anyone (Dolphin's or another team if he is cut) give him more money than his current contract until he proves by playing in a few games that he is worth it.  Plus its not like he can say to the Dolphins I want a new contract or I won't play. 

Alternate theory:  Quiet quitting.  He never plans to play another snap for the the Dolphins or any other team.  He is 30.  After getting injured and surgery he did decided to hang it up, he called his agent who explained to him if he retired now he would have to pay back much of his signing bonus.  Agent tells him if he shows up to camp is put on PUP he will keep collecting his salary if he keeps saying he is too hurt to play they will keep him on PUP and eventually cut him relieving him of owing the signing bonus back and collecting his salary along the way. 

Another interesting theory. Football is a very demanding sport, sometimes it's not worth the pain much sooner than you initially thought.

I'd buy this before the contract thing because like you said ... it just doesn't make sense.

Do you honestly think the narrative changes much if the coach is saying that Byron is physically fine, but mentally he's not ready to play? That doesn't help the narrative on him at all in my opinion and honestly from Bryon's standpoint I think he could take that the wrong way.

Depends on how they word it. They could say something like "He is still getting ready, but it's a long process to get healthy and feel comfortable going all out on the field after a major injury". I think that would be fair without throwing the player under the bus.

Weekly Update from Coach McDaniel:

McDaniel was asked about byron jones: "he's absolutely going to be able to play when he's able to. when that is...my crystal ball is broken...but it's the same story as last time."

he then jokes that miami is winning games because everyone continues to ask about byron jones.

He didn't seem agitated when answering, but his words basically said "He ain't playing again for the team, so quit asking".

He's not even running on the sidelines. He's just been AWOL lately. Just more strange to the story as he was doing that a few weeks ago.

I think both sides are on the same page in regards to him not playing for the team again for whatever reason, so they both agreed to not even have him around anymore. Just an assumption but I think it's accurate.

Consistent with my theory. 

It is. Question is, why wouldn't Miami trash him for this? Is it not worth alienating the locker room? No true legal recourse since medical clearance is arbitrary?

Even if the doctors don’t see anything on an MRI or Xray it is impossible to disprove the statement “I can jog on it, but it still hurts some”. So would be hard to prove he quit.  No point in cutting him now as it wouldn’t save money and might be impossible to with dead money hit and he isn’t costing a roster spot, 

Dude got $40 million for two years, very well paid by Miami.  Then he wants to sit out because he'll only get $14 million in the third year?  I could understand him holding out for a new contract next year because he would be out of guaranteed money but this is bullshit.  Hopefully other teams will look at his actions and collude against him and not give him a payday.

McDaniel was asked again about Byron and he said that he is not counting on him to return this season. So, that all but closes the chapter on Byron's Miami career.

It's looking more and more like Hoodie is right on the money here.

Yeah, that's the most likeliest explanation at the moment. It would be surprising if he played another NFL snap since he voluntarily sat out this season, a season where the team was a legit contender.