They’re close friends reunited with the Dolphins. But they can’t agree on one thing

Miami Dolphins safeties Brandon Jones and DeShon Elliott have a long history of friendship that dates back to their college days at the University of Texas in 2016 and 2017.

But there’s one point of disagreement between these two, and that involves who deserves the praise for connecting Jones with his now-wife, Bri Jones.

In an interview with the Miami Herald, Elliott claimed sole responsibility for setting his friend up with Bri, who worked on the recruiting staff at Texas when the two met and is currently a football athlete manager at Roc Nation Sports.

“I would say I consider myself Cupid,” Elliott said jokingly.

But if you ask Brandon?

“He definitely didn’t put me on Bri,” Brandon told the Herald. “But he was dating Bri’s best friend before me and Bri got together, so we kind of all came in together. But he definitely, like he said, gave me a layup or whatever. Whatever that means. But honestly, I definitely did the dirty work. But he assisted in a way.”

What really happened, though?

Brandon visited Texas as a junior with one of his best friends, Josh Thompson – who currently plays for the Tennessee Titans –, where Bri was giving them a tour.

“As soon as I seen her I was like, ‘As soon as I get here I’mma date her,’” Brandon said. “I told my best friend that. So I already knew what the deal was.”

Bri vouched for Brandon in an interview with the Herald, saying that Elliott only came into the picture because he was dating one of her best friends at the time, which made them all hang out together.

“So I think that’s where he thinks that he played a very big role because he’s the reason that we actually would hang out,” Bri said. “The four of us would go on double dates and stuff, and him and DeShon would kind of be a little duo and come bother me at work.”

Despite the two having opposing opinions, Elliott said that Brandon has never thanked him for something that Elliott believes he was responsible for.

“Every time I bring this up, he always says ‘Nah, bro. You didn’t do this,’” Elliott said. “And I say ‘Bro, what are you talkin’ about?’ He tries to act like he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. But I definitely put them together, for sure.”

But a week later, Jones had a message for his friend.

“DeShon, listen,” Jones said. “If you’re listening to this, I’m very thankful for you. I just didn’t think I had to thank him because I did most of the work.”

No matter who was in charge of what, the relationship itself still turned out to be something special. Brandon and Bri ended up getting engaged in April 2021 and then married a year later in Rhode Island. Elliott was a groomsman at their wedding.

But since Elliott signed with the Dolphins in March, there’s a new dynamic to their longtime friendship, as they’re both competing for the other starting safety spot alongside Jevon Holland.

According to Brandon, there’s “no hard feelings” between the two.

“We were kind of friends before we started playing together,” Brandon said Tuesday after joint practice with the Falcons. “So it is what it is. We’re both super competitive. We’re gonna go out there and compete. But we’re gonna let the way we play and stuff in practice, let it take care of itself.”

After tearing his ACL in Week 7 last season, Brandon returned to the field for the start of training camp. With the guidance of trainers, he is only able to take baby steps each practice. Entering the Dolphins’ preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, he remained in a red, non-contact jersey. But on Tuesday, he estimated that he participated in about 12 plays, including team drills in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s.

He will continue to compete against Elliott, Elijah Campbell, Trill Williams and Verone McKinley III for the spot — and a decision is likely to be revealed in the next month.

But despite it all, Brandon is just happy to be reunited in Miami with his former Texas teammate and best friend.

“I’m super happy, super grateful for him being here,” Brandon said. “We made him be one of my groomsmen in my wedding, so it was kind of meant to be full circle again.”