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One things for sure, Byron Jones is about to get paid. We may not know where he’s going to play in 2020, and it seems very likely it won’t be in Dallas, but we do know he is probably going to reset the cornerback market.
Another team reportedly has interest in signing Jones, and that team is the New York Jets.
Now, with NFL free agency fast approaching, New York is showing interest in two of the top cornerbacks on the market, the Dallas Cowboys’ Byron Jones and the Carolina Panthers’ James Bradberry, sources said.
If Jones has to go somewhere, the Jets wouldn’t be a bad destination for Cowboys fans. He’d be in the other conference and the Cowboys would only see him once every four years. There’s another AFC team reportedly in the hunt, and that’s the Las Vegas Raiders.
One of the top young cornerbacks in the NFL is expected to hit free agency soon, and the growing sense is the Raiders have a strong interest in bringing him to Las Vegas.
If the Cowboys have to lose Jones, losing him to an AFC team would be better than say, seeing him in the NFC East in a regular basis. That’s also a strong possibility.
Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline fielded a mailbag question this week and was asked for the latest concerning Jones. Pauline believes the Eagles and Giants could get into a bidding war for his services.
What have you heard about the Philadelphia Eagles and Byron Jones?
Throughout the week of the NFL Combine, everything I heard pointed to the Philadelphia Eagles being the favorite for CB Byron Jones. Then late in the weekend, someone told me to “expect the Eagles and New York Giants to get into a bidding war for Jones.” As I reported last week – Jones is going to make a lot of money and he’ll be able to pick the team he wants to play for.
There have even been reports that Washington might want to get involved in the bidding.
It’s been reported that the Cowboys are more in the $12 to $13 million annual range for Jones and aren’t interested in going higher than that. He’s going to get more than that and likely reset the cornerback market in the process.
“Anything under $16 million per year with fewer than $50 million in overall guarantees would be surprising,” [former agent Joel] Corry said. “I doubt he’s back in Dallas. I’ve thought his long-term fate with the Cowboys was sealed when (right tackle) La’el Collins signed a contract extension at the end of last preseason.”
It looks like a bidding war is building for Jones’ services, and the Cowboys are not willing to jump into that.