Saints may trade T. Jones to Miami

[1niksder]

Posted on Sun, Mar. 13, 2005
Saints may trade T. Jones to Miami
BY ARMANDO SALGUERO

The Dolphins spent much of the past few days trying to work a trade with the New Orleans Saints to acquire veteran safety Tebucky Jones.

Two NFL sources said Saturday the Saints hope to complete a deal as early as today or Monday because they intend to release Jones by the middle of the week to create salary-cap space. Jones became expendable to New Orleans when the team signed unrestricted free agent Dwight Smith.

The Dolphins have an interest in Jones as a strong safety, a position he has not played during his two seasons in New Orleans. The Dolphins lost strong safety Sammy Knight when he signed as an unrestricted free agent with Kansas City on Friday.

Jones' two seasons in New Orleans have been marked with consistent but unspectacular play. He is not known for creating turnovers, which is something coach Jim Haslett wants out of his free safety.

Last season, Jones, 30, intercepted one pass and forced one fumble. He has never totaled more than two interceptions in a season during his seven-year career.

The Dolphins are apparently interested in Jones because he is fine tackler, and the team believes he can be helpful against the run. The Dolphins were 31st out of 32 teams against the run last season.

Jones agent, Gary Wichard, could not be reached for comment Saturday. Dolphins coach Nick Saban was similarly unavailable.

One source said the asking price for Jones is ''a second-day pick,'' meaning a mid-to-late round selection. It is possible the Dolphins would try to get Jones for a conditional pick based on his contribution in 2005.

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