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Miami Dolphins Rumors: Will Pacman Jones Join His Position Coach In Florida?

By Ernie Howell
Published on: 06:10 PST, Mar 6, 2016

The Miami Dolphins need help on the defensive side of the ball, and rumors indicate Adam “Pacman” Jones could be one of the top targets for the Fins in free agency, multiple reports suggested.

The strongest calling card for “Pacman” Jones to entertain an offer from the Miami Dolphins is the fact his former position coach, Vance Joseph, was recently hired by as their defensive coordinator, the Phinsider reported this weekend. Under Joseph’s tutelage, “Pacman” Jones thrived in Cincinnati, earning a Pro Bowl berth for the first time in 2015.

For “Pacman” Jones, the penalty that cost the Cincinnati Bengals a victory in this year’s playoffs is a distant memory for teams desperate needing help at the corner back position. That is especially true of the Miami Dolphins, as Vance Joseph blames himself instead of “Pacman” Jones for the costly mistake, SB Nation reported after the playoff loss.

A short-term memory could especially be true for the Miami Dolphins after the AFC North squad gave up 7.8 yards per pass attempt, Bleacher Report added. “Pacman” Jones could work wonders to improve that statistic in 2016.

According to Fox Sports Mike Garafolo, “Pacman” Jones is a 10-year veteran that has matured from his earlier stints with the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys. “Pacman” is fortunate to be in this situation, as legal troubles as well as a neck injury have nearly cost him his career.

But those issues have the 32-year-old Jones extolling teams like the Miami Dolphins that he is just now entering his prime despite the fact his age tells a different story.

“I think I’m just now really getting into my prime. You take a look at my career, I played three years of football — two in Tennessee, one in Dallas — all of that was on natural ability. I know it seems like I’ve been around a long time, but my body hasn’t gotten to play that much football, just because of circumstances of where I was at.”

Perhaps the only obstacle standing between “Pacman” Jones and the Miami Dolphins coming to an agreement is the amount of money the cornerback is certain to command for his services. A bidding war between teams seeking help in their defensive backfield could be cost-prohibitive for the Miami Dolphins. Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio has verified as many as six other teams could be in the market for his services, including his current team.

The Dallas Cowboys — who seemingly year-in and year-out have money to burn on free agents — are one of those suitors that may interest “Pacman” Jones. In addition to being his former team, the Cowboys have already expressed interest in cutting Brandon Carr, with “Pacman” Jones targeted as his upgrade at the position, Yahoo! Sports reported earlier this week.

The Miami Dolphins players are committed to helping the team secure top-flight free agents this offseason. ESPN reported that the squad entered the weekend over the salary cap due to assigning defensive end Olivier Vernon a transition tag worth $12.7 million.

To make room under the salary cap, Ndamukong Suh — who signed a six-year, $114 million contract less than a year ago with the Miami Dolphins — restructured his deal to bring the team under the salary cap. Restructuring Ndamukong’s contract will not reduce the amount of money the team owes the defensive stalwart, as the arrangement merely makes the agreement salary-cap friendly.

In addition to Suh’s restructured deal, linebacker Koa Misi also renegotiated his contract to make it salary-cap friendly. In a final move to clear cap space, the Miami Dolphins released veteran wide receiver Greg Jennings Friday, adding at least $4 million in savings to their salaries.

What do you think about the Miami Dolphins targeting Adam “Pacman” Jones for defensive help? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images]

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