Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Court grants McDonald extension
Miami Dolphins safety T.J. McDonald received an extension from the court to complete his court-ordered obligations related to a 2016 auto accident without further punitive action, according to a source.
TMZ Sports reported Wednesday afternoon that McDonald recently had his probation revoked because he had not completed his community service or the alcohol program related to the incident.
McDonald was suspended for the first eight games this past season for violating the NFL Policy and Programs for Substances of Abuse as a result of that accident. He eventually had the charges reduced.
McDonald, who spent his previous four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, started alongside Pro Bowl safety Reshad Jones when he returned from the suspension and finished with 45 tackles, three for losses, and one interception in eight games.
McDonald, a five-year veteran who was a thirdround pick of the Rams out of Southern California, signed a four-year, $24 million contract extension with the Dolphins before the start of the regular-season season with $10 million guaranteed. He’d initially signed a one-year, $1.3 million deal.
McDonald and Jones are both strong safeties but they play interchangeably, meaning one assumes the free safety role, and they seem likely to be the Dolphins’ duo in the defensive backfield next season and possibly beyond.
TMZ reports McDonald is due back in court in March.
If he fulfills his court-ordered obligations, the source said, he should be able to participate in the Dolphins’ offseason program, which usually starts in mid-April, without interruption.
If he fulfills his court-ordered obligations, the source said, he should be able to participate in the Dolphins’ offseason program