Dolphins add two veteran cornerbacks in Jack Jones, Mike Hilton

C. Isaiah Smalls II, Miami Herald on Jul 26, 2025

Published in Football

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MIAMI — In one day, the Miami Dolphins have changed the outlook of their secondary.

Former Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jack Jones signed with the Miami Dolphins, the team announced Saturday morning. Less than six hours later, ex-Cincinnati Bengals nickel corner Mike Hilton joined the aqua and orange, according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus.

This comes the same week that the Dolphins’ cornerback room endured a slew of injuries. First came Artie Burns’ torn ACL on Wednesday. Then Kader Kohou suffered a leg injury during one-on-ones at Saturday’s practice. Within hours, undrafted rookie BJ Adams was subsequently carted off the field.

A fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Jones has earned the reputation of ballhawk as he has snagged an eye-popping seven interceptions in 42 career games. The 27-year-old has also turned four of those picks into touchdowns and amassed 136 combined tackles.

“We call him Jack Boy,” Dolphins cornerback Cornell Armstrong said of Jones, praising his energy and calling him “a player that you want to be around.” The two briefly played together on the Raiders. “He’s going to get the ball. He’s a hard worker. He has a lot of love for the game.”

Jones, however, has ran into trouble off of the field. In June 2023, he was arrested on weapons charges after police allegedly found two firearms in his carry-on bag at the airport. Luckily, Jones reached a deal that dropped the charges in exchange for one year of probation and 48 hours of community service.

Still, the New England Patriots waived Jones just five games into the 2023 campaign. The Raiders picked him up later that year. He appeared in seven games, starting just three.

In 2024, Jones appeared to jump ahead on the depth chart, starting 16 of 17 games. He then turned in the best year of his young career: three picks, one of which he returned for a touchdown, 16 pass deflections and 69 total tackles. Jones unfortunately allowed eight touchdowns and 571 yards in coverage, according to Pro Football Reference.

A coaching change in Las Vegas, however, led to the end of Jones’ tenure in the desert. Roughly three months after Raiders named Peter Carroll as a head coach, Jones was released.

Hilton, meanwhile, has 56 starts underneath his belt across eight seasons with the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. During that span, the now 31-year-old grabbed 13 picks and defended 56 passes. He also brings a bit of pass rushing experience to the secondary with a career 11.5 sacks, 66 tackles for loss and 32 quarterback hits. The bad news: quarterbacks completed about 67-percent of their passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns against Hilton in 2024, according to Pro Football Reference.

An undrafted rookie who found a home with the Steelers in 2017, Hilton played the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh. His success landed him a four-year, $24 million contract with the Bengals.

It’s clear that Hilton certainly left a mark in Cincinnati. Following the news of his signing with the Dolphins, Bengals analyst Paul Dehner Jr. deemed the cornerback “First Team All-Great Dude.”

“Won the PFWA Media Cooperation Award last year, was a team leader and a heart and soul of those stellar 2021-22 defenses and both playoff runs,” Dehner tweeted Saturday. “One of the best free agent signings in Bengals history.”

With the extent of Kohou’s injury unknown, Hilton gives the Dolphins another experienced, nickel corner. He’s taken the vast majority of his snaps — 4,714 to be exact — in the nickel. Outside of Kohou, the Dolphins didn’t have much help in the nickel prior to Hilton’s signing.

Both veterans arrive in South Florida with a real chance to become a starter. Jones can create turnovers — his seven interceptions since 2022 ranks in the top 25 among all players — and the Dolphins certainly need that on the boundary. Hilton, however, can handle the nickel if Kohou opts to play on the boundary or if his injury keeps him out for an extended period of time.

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