What Now at Cornerback Without Jones?
The Miami Dolphins' cornerback problem has gotten worse, and the question now is whether there's a simple solution available.
When the team cut its roster down to 53 players Tuesday, one of the moves involved placing cornerback Byron Jones on the Reserve/PUP list, which means he'll have to miss at least the first four games of the season.
Jones is an incredibly valuable member of Miami’s defense — despite being badly overshadowed by fellow starting cornerback Xavien Howard. The team ran man coverage 67 percent of the time last season and frequently asked Jones to cover receivers on an island. If Miami’s corners can’t hold their own in man coverage, the philosophy behind their defense falls apart.
HOW JONES LANDED ON RESERVE/PUP
Jones' status for the start of the regular season was a mystery throughout training camp, though head coach Mike McDaniel kept saying he was hopeful he would be ready for Week 1 barring any setbacks.
In discussing to move to sideline Jones for the first month of the regular season, GM Chris Grier didn't mention a setback but rather a preference to be careful not to rush Jones back.
"It really was just working through the process with him, just letting him take his time, go through the rehab work," Grier said. "Like everything, you have good days and bad days, but he worked hard, did great. It was just, we were being patient and not putting any pressure on him to rush him back. And at the end of the day, we made the decision, talking with him to put him down for the four games because he was still optimistic about hopefully being here in a couple of weeks, but we wanted to be fair and we can’t rush him out there with this. We just want to make sure he’s ready and right when he comes back.”
THE DOLPHINS' IN-HOUSE OPTIONS AT CORNERBACK
The Dolphins don’t have anyone on the current roster who can replace Jones, and this is just the latest hit the cornerback position has taken this summer. The Dolphins lost promising second-year player Trill Williams, and the veteran they signed to replace him, Mackensie Alexander, to season-ending injuries earlier this month.
Making the situation more dicey is the health status of Eric Rowe and Keion Crossen. Rowe and Crossen both have missed practice recently and didn't play in the team’s final preseason game against the Eagles.
This makes the team’s third and fourth cornerback spot up for grabs, with Howard and Nik Needham occupying the top two spots — and Needham also is dealing with what appears to be a minor injury (after he played against the Eagles but didn't appear to be practicing in the portion open to the media Tuesday).
Put simply, Miami lost two cornerbacks to injury and several of their remaining options are banged up.
Despite this, General Manager Chris Grier said the team feels good about the group they have.
“Yeah, like everything we’ll be searching the waiver wire here (Tuesday night) and into tomorrow,” Grier said. “But for us, we feel good about the group we have. Right now, that’s not a position right now we feel is critical for us right now.”
THE CURRENT CONCERNS AT CORNERBACK
While it makes sense for Grier to be publicly confident about the players Miami has on its roster, none of them have track records that should prevent Miami from adding another cornerback.
Former first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene had a rocky preseason, to say the least, though he did look a little better against the Eagles than he did against Tampa Bay and Las Vegas.
He recorded a PBU in the first quarter, and he allowed zero receptions in 17 coverage reps, according to PFF. Betting on Igbinoghene to suddenly become a starting-caliber corner isn’t wise, though.
He struggled a lot in the team’s first two preseason games and struggled to get on the field last season.
Kader Kohou, who was one of two UDFAs to make the initial 53-man roster along with tight end Tanner Conner, could see playing time during Jones’ absence. Kohou impressed in training camp after Miami signed him out of Texas A&M-Commerce following the draft.
He allowed four catches on seven targets during the preseason but allowed just 16 total yards, according to PFF.
“He’s a competitor man,” head coach Mike McDaniel said. “And that’s the one thing that was obvious. It’s also obvious to him or to all of us early when the game’s not too big for you. Because it’s hard. The jump in level of play is real. But he, from the onset, let it be known through his play that this was not too big of a stage for him.”
Kohou is listed at 5-10, 195 pounds, and he could replace Needham in the slot if Needham kicks outside to replace Jones. Although it’s impressive that Kohou made the team, he likely won’t come close to replacing Jones’ skill or production.
The team also kept Elijah Campbell on the 53-man roster, but he’s more of a safety than a pure coverage cornerback.
Even if Crossen is healthy for Week 1, his pedigree isn’t overly impressive. He was the team’s best depth cornerback during training camp and he has experience with Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, but the last time he played a lot of reps was from 2019 to 2020 when he appeared for 441 defensive snaps with the Houston Texans. He recorded just six pass breakups and zero interceptions during that stretch.
VETERAN CORNERBACKS ON THE MARKET
With Miami’s internal options looking suspect, the Dolphins would be wise to consider some options both on the waiver wire and in free agency at large.
Highly touted veterans like Joe Haden, Chris Harris Jr. and Xavier Rhodes should be under consideration. However, they’ll likely demand high salaries and they are all on the wrong side of 30.
And in Haden's case, his agent Drew Rosenhaus said on his weekly South Florida TV appearance on WSVN, that Haden didn't want to sign anywhere he wouldn't be a starter, so that likely takes him out of contention unless Jones' issue becomes a season-long problem.
Harris and Haden’s coverage grades and production have declined the past couple of seasons, and Rhodes, who spent the past two years with the Colts playing mostly zone coverage, isn’t a scheme fit.
There are younger options like Raleigh Texada and Jarren Williams that Miami could consider. The team brought in Texada for a workout after Williams was injured and Williams showed some promise in a limited sample size last season.
Neither of those players has a lot of experience and, given Miami’s lack of depth, whoever the team adds might have to play sooner than later. Miami’s third cornerback played 33 percent of the team’s snaps last season.
The bottom line here, though, is that Jones’ spot in Miami’s defense is very important and no matter whether the Dolphins rely on the players they have or add a free agent, they likely won’t be able to adequately replace Jones.
