Reshad Monquez Jones (born February 25, 1988) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

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at the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

. He was selected by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

in the fifth round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

Early life

Reshad was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School where he earned AAAA All-State and Defensive Player of the Year honors from ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' and the Georgia Sports Writers Association as a senior. Jones was the no. 1 safety in the country according to PrepStar 100 and Rivals Top 100. Jones was also the Fox Sports Net South Countdown to Signing Day All-South First Team defensive back.

College career

Jones was a three-year letterman and two-year starter at Georgia. Reshad finished his college career playing in 39 games with 27 starts and recording career totals of 206 tackles (129 solos), including 10 stops for losses. Jones batted away 13 passes and intercepted 11 others for 174 yards. The stand out safety became the eighth player since statistics were kept in 1950 to lead the team in interceptions in consecutive seasons. As a sophomore, Reshad was named second-team Sophomore All-American and second-team All-SEC honors while winning the team's Most Improved Defensive Back Award. Jones repeated the feature as a junior and was named as a second-team All-SEC selection and earned the team's Most Improved Player Award for defense.

Professional career

On January 4, 2010, Jones announced that he would forgo his senior season at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and enter the

, as he was projected to be a second round pick by NFL draft experts. He was one of 54 collegiate defensive backs to attend the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

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and completed all of the combine drills. He finished tied for third among all defensive backs in the

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

, tied for fifth in the vertical jump, and finished 21st in the 40-yard dash. On March 16, 2010, he attended Georgia's pro day and improved his times in the 40-yard dash (4.50s) and 20-yard dash (2.64s) and ran positional drills for scouts and team representatives. He was linked to the Miami Dolphins after attending a dinner with team personnel during a two-day visit. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jones was projected to be a third or fourth round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the third best strong safety prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

2010

The

selected Jones in the fifth round (163rd overall) of the

. The Miami Dolphins traded their sixth (174th overall) and seventh round (219th overall) selections to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

to acquire the Redskins' fifth round pick and select Jones. He was the 13th safety selected in 2010. On July 14, 2010, the Dolphins signed Jones to a four-year, $1.95 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $160,400. He entered training camp competing against Tyrone Culver and Chris Clemons for job as the starting free safety after it was left vacant by the departure of Gibril Wilson. Head coach

Tony Sparano Anthony Joseph Sparano III (October 7, 1961 – July 22, 2018) was an American football coach. He served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and is the only NFL head coach to have l ...

named Jones the backup free safety behind Chris Clemons to start the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Miami Dolphins' season-opening 15–10 victory at the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He was inactive for two consecutive games (Weeks 8–9) after suffering a knee injury during the Dolphins' 23–22 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. On November 14, 2010, Jones recorded three solo tackles, two pass deflections, his first career sack, and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Vince Young during a 29–17 victory against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. The following week, he earned his first career start at free safety in place of Chris Clemons who suffered a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury the previous week. He recorded a season-high five combined tackles in the Dolphins' 16–0 loss to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He was sidelined for the Dolphins' Week 12 victory at the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

after he suffered an ankle injury. He finished his rookie season with 21 combined tackles (18 solo), two pass deflections, an interception, and a sack in 13 games and two starts.

2011

Through training camp in , he competed for the job as the starting free safety against Chris Clemons. Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan named Jones the starting free safety, alongside strong safety Yeremiah Bell, to begin the regular season. Reshad Jones2

He started the Miami Dolphins' season-opener against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (eight solo) and deflected a pass during their 38–24 loss. The following week, he recorded six combined tackles and sacked quarterback Matt Schaub as the Dolphins lost 23–13 to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. Jones was inactive for the Dolphins' Week 7 loss to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

due to a knee injury he sustained the previous week. He returned the following week, but was demoted as a backup behind Tyrone Culver. He remained the backup for three games before regaining his starting role in Week 11. On December 12, 2011, the Miami Dolphins fired head coach Tony Sparano after the Dolphins fell to a 4–9 record. The defensive backs coach Todd Bowles was named the interim head coach for the rest of the season. In Week 15, Jones made six combined tackles and intercepted his first pass of the season off a pass by

Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine teams, the ...

in their 30–23 victory at the

. He finished the season with 67 combined tackles (49 solo), four pass deflections, two sacks, and an interception in 15 games and 12 starts.

2012

Jones entered training camp slated as the starting strong safety. Head coach Joe Philbin named him the starter for the start of the regular season, alongside free safety Chris Clemons. On November 15, 2012, Jones recorded a season-high 14 combined tackles (11 solo) and deflected a pass during a 19–14 loss at the

. In Week 13, Jones recorded nine solo tackles, a pass deflection, a sack, and intercepted a pass by

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

during a 23–16 loss to the

. He finished the season with 94 combined tackles (73 solo), nine pass deflections, four interceptions, and a sack in 16 games and 16 starts. He was also the led the Dolphins in interceptions.

2013

Jones held out and skipped organized team activities due to a contract dispute after he was set to make $1.32 million in 2013 after allowing an average quarterback rating of 38.0 and only allowed one touchdown reception in pass coverage during his first full season as their starting free safety. His quarterback rating average allowed in pass coverage ranked fourth among all safeties in 2012. On August 5, 2013, the Miami Dolphins signed Jones to a four-year, $28.01 million contract that includes $15 million guaranteed and a $5 million signing bonus. Jones and Chris Clemons remainder the starting safety duo to begin the season in their second season under defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle. On October 6, 2013, Jones recorded three solo tackles, broke up a pass, and returned an interception by Joe Flacco for a 25-yard touchdown during a 26–23 loss to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. It marked his first career touchdown in his first four seasons. In Week 17, he recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles (ten solo) as the Dolphins lost 21–7 to the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. Jones finished the season with 107 combined tackles (84 solo), four pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, one interception, and a touchdown in 16 games and 16 starts.

2014

On August 8, 2014, Jones was suspended for the first four games of the 2014 season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. He released a statement through the NFLPA that he never intentionally took any performance-enhancing drugs and failed the test for a substance that is banned by the NFL after receiving a supplement from a former college trainer, but fully takes responsibility for not checking the supplement and investigating further. Jimmy Wilson replaced Jones at strong safety during his four-game absence (Weeks 1–4). Upon finishing his suspension, he returned to his starting role, alongside free safety Louis Delmas. He made his season debut in a Week 6 matchup against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and recorded nine solo tackles and deflected a pass during a 27–24 loss. The following week, Jones recorded seven solo tackles, a season-high two pass deflections, and returned an interception by

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. A member of the Chicago Bears for most of his career, he is ...

for a career-long 50-yard return during a 27–14 victory at the

. In Week 13, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (nine solo), deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass by quarterback Geno Smith in the Dolphins' 16–13 win at the

. Jones finished the season with 80 combined tackles (70 solo), seven pass deflections, three interceptions, and a sack in 12 games and 12 starts.

2015

Head coach Joe Philbin retained Jones as the starting strong safety to start the 2015 regular season, opposite new free safety Walt Aikens. He started the Miami Dolphins' season-opener at the

and recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles (seven solo) and broke up a pass during their 17–10 victory. On October 5, 2015, head coach of Joe Philbin was fired after the Dolphins lost their Week 4 matchup against the

and stood at 1–3. Tight ends coach Dan Campbell was promoted to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. On October 18, 2015, Jones collected eight combined tackles, deflected a pass, and returned an interception by

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

for a 30-yard touchdown in the Dolphins' 38–10 win at the

. The following week, he made eight solo tackles, two pass deflections, and returned an interception by quarterback Brian Hoyer for a 23-yard touchdown in a 44–26 win against the

. In Week 10, Jones collected nine combined tackles, a pass deflection, a sack, and an interception as the defeated the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

20–19 victory. He finished the season with a career-high 135 combined tackles (106 solo), ten pass deflections, a career-high five interceptions, two sacks, and two touchdowns in 16 games and 16 starts. On January 24, 2016, it was announced that Jones was named as a replacement to the 2016 Pro Bowl after Cincinnati Bengals' safety Reggie Nelson was unable to participate due to an ankle injury he suffered in the AFC Wildcard Game. On May 16, 2016, Jones was announced as the 64th ranked player, as voted by his peers, on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

2016

On January 9, 2016, the Miami Dolphins announced the hiring of Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator Adam Gase as their new head coach. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph named Jones the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, along with free safety Isa Abdul-Quddus. He started the Miami Dolphins' season-opener at the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles (six solo) and broke up a pass during their 12–10 loss. On October 16, 2016, Jones collected five combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

in their 30–15 victory over the

. He left the game in the third quarter after tearing his rotator cuff. On October 19, 2016, the Miami Dolphins officially placed Jones on injured reserve and announced that he would miss the remainder of the season with his torn rotator cuff. Jones finished the season with 51 combined tackles (31 solo), four pass deflections, an interception, and half a sack in six games and six starts.

2017

On March 9, 2017, the Miami Dolphins signed Jones to a five-year, $60 million contract extension with the Dolphins with $35 million guaranteed and a $9.2 million signing bonus. Head coach Adam Gase named Jones the starting strong safety, opposite free safety Nate Allen. In Week 9, he collected nine solo tackles and broke up a pass in the Dolphins' 27–24 loss to the

. On December 19, 2017, Jones was named to his second Pro Bowl. On December 24, 2017, Jones recorded a season-high 15 combined tackles (ten solo) and deflected a pass during their 29–13 loss at the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He finished the season with 122 combined tackles (94 solo), five pass deflections, two interceptions, and 1.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus gave Jones an overall grade of 81.5, ranking 29th among all safeties in 2017. His 122 tackles were those most among all defensive backs and 12th most in the league.

2018

In the Dolphins' season opener against the Tennessee Titans, Jones recorded two interceptions in a single game for the first time in his professional career.

2019

On November 20, 2019, Jones was placed on injured reserve, ending his season. On March 18, 2020, the Miami Dolphins released Jones, who still had two years left on his previous deal. Jones was the last remaining Dolphin on the roster to have played under head coach

, who died from arteriosclerotic heart disease 2 years prior. Jones' release from the Dolphins also made sixth-year wide receiver DeVante Parker the new longest tenured player on the team's roster.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Jones is first cousins with former NFL cornerback/return specialist Adam 'Pacman' Jones. Jones has a daughter with WAGS Miami star, Darnell Nicole. They separated in 2016.

References

External links

Georgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Reshad 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Atlanta American football safeties Georgia Bulldogs football players Miami Dolphins players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players American Conference Pro Bowl players