Ex-Dolphins S Reshad Jones Labeled the 'Perfect Insurance Option' for Broncos

Earlier this week, the Miami Dolphins released veteran safety Reshad Jones. The move freed up $5.3 million in salary-cap space but it was conspicuous, considering the Dolphins' relative cap health ($87.5M available).

The 32-year-old Jones is a formidable player when he's on the field. But that's part of the problem; the two-time Pro Bowler has missed a combined 14 games over the last two seasons.

Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos are poised to return both their incumbent starters at safety. Kareem Jackson enters 2020 on year two of the three-year contract he signed last spring, while free-agent Justin Simmons was franchise-tagged by the Broncos earlier this week.

All of this sets the stage for a curious article by Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox, who labeled Jones the 'perfect insurance option' for the Broncos.

The Broncos have a budding star in safety Justin Simmons, and they gave him the franchise tag Friday. However, the tag is only a short-term option, and the Broncos could use depth behind the Boston College product.

Jones could be a perfect insurance option for Simmons—or a potential replacement if Simmons isn't retained beyond [2020]. In 2018, Jones played under assistant defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill, who is now Denver's defensive backs coach.

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Why it's Pie-in-the-Sky

There's only one aspect of a potential Jones-to-Denver marriage that has any merit and that's the Renaldo Hill connection. Hill was hired last year under Vic Fangio to coach the defensive backs.

As Knox elucidates, Hill spent 2018 as an assistant DBs coach with the Dolphins, where he worked with Jones. However, even though Broncos' GM John Elway listens closely to the personnel persuasions of his coaches, it's hard to see Hill pounding the table for Jones for a couple of reasons.

24%

In the wake of the A.J. Bouye trade and the Simmons tag, the latter of which will come with a worst-case-scenario price tag of $11.545M for 2020, the Broncos have a whopping 24.4% of their current salary cap liabilities tied up in the secondary ($42.5M).

At 32, Jones is likely to command a decent contract on the open market, even if it is on a one-year, 'prove it' type deal coming off a season in which he missed 12 starts to injury. With Will Parks poised to test the market, there's a good chance he'll find a suitor willing to pay him starter money, which means the Broncos will have a need for a viable No. 3 safety.

But unless Jones was willing to take a team-friendly contract, it's hard to see the Broncos truly going out of their way to recruit him to Denver. When you factor in all the roster holes the Broncos have to fill this offseason, the No. 3 safety role checks in relatively low on the priority list.

The Broncos do need to make a couple of additions to the secondary; namely, one more starting-caliber cornerback and that No. 3 safety, but the latter, again, is way down the priority list. The team could get by with Trey Marshall as the No. 3, if push came to shove. Marshall played well in the role in the final two games of last season while Jackson served his two-game DUI suspension.

Broncos Don't Need 'Insurance' at a Premium

Jackson played lights-out in Fangio's defense last year, and even though he'll also be 32 years old heading into the 2020 season, he's shown no signs of slowing down yet. Then there's Simmons, who, granted, will be pitted against Elway in negotiations on a long-term contract between now and the season-opener, but there's no reason to doubt that the Broncos' front-office czar is going to suddenly break from precedent with regard to the franchise tag.

Since becoming a Broncos' executive, Elway has applied the franchise tag to four previous players and in each case, that player and the team came to an agreement on a multi-year deal by July, well in time for the regular season. No Bronco has actually played on the franchise tag since Elway took his role in the front office.

Considering how Elway has already labeled the franchise tag as a "placeholder" for negotiations with Simmons, it's hard to see the Broncos suddenly reversing course, bucking tradition, and allowing the player to play on the tag.

Jones earned $13M in base salary last year in Miami. Even if he's willing to take half of that on a 'prove it' deal, that's many millions more than the Broncos are likely to pay for their No. 3 safety.

Bottom Line

The Broncos are going to be players when free agency opens next week (Football Gods willing). Those precious cap dollars will be allocated first to the team's most pressing needs (defensive line, O-line, linebacker, cornerback) and filling the No. 3 safety role with a 32-year-old, albeit two-time Pro Bowler, like Jones, is implausible, to say the least.

Never say never, but it's unlikely Jones lands in Denver. Check out the video above for five significantly more viable free agents the Broncos could pursue to fill that No. 3 safety role.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.