I think things were leaked from both sides to control the narrative. I suspect it was Jones' agent, not Jones himself. GB also stated they wanted him to take a pay cut in half, but they didn't mention that a big chunk was in incentives.
Ultimately, it's just negotiating that got public. It's just seeing how the sausage is made.

I do wonder what changed from Gute saying he "absolutely" wanted Jones back to him being released... unless it was unspoken and assumed that Gute "absolutely" wanted Jones back at a specific price point.

And the timing on the Jacobs signing doesn't really impact things from what I've heard. They asked Jones to take the pay cut first, and when he said no they moved on to sign Jacobs.
If you ask a player to take a cut and they say no, you either cut them or risk every player thinking it's a bluff and calling you on it.