Falcons wideout Julio Jones reported to his team’s minicamp last month, a clear indication that he won’t hold out as he pursues a new contract. The Pro Bowl receiver reiterated this sentiment to TMZ.com, saying he trusts owner Arthur Blank and won’t miss training camp.
“Mr. Blank gave us his word. . . . That’s golden,” Jones said (via Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com). “[Blank’s] word is that it’s going to get done. . . . There’s no stress on my end. I’m not thinking about it.
“[Blank] makes it easy for me to go out and just work every day and not have one of those situations where there’s a holdout or anything like that.”
Blank had previously said he expects Jones (along with teammates Grady Jarrett and Deion Jones) to be “Falcons for life.” There had been reports of progress on the Jones front throughout the offseason, but with two years remaining on the receiver’s contract, the organization may be patient as they work to extend their offensive star. The lack of an new contract hasn’t prevented Jones from participating in team workouts; while he skipped OTAs for a second-straight year, the 30-year-old attended minicamp last month.
Jones has been pushing for a new contract since the 2018 offseason — before Odell Beckham Jr. signed his five-year, $90MM deal. Beckham’s $18MM-per-year pact and Antonio Brown‘s redone deal — which reset his APY figure to $19.8MM — lead the receiver market. Jones will presumably be looking to approach those marks, with our own Zach Links recently suggesting a three-year extension that adds $60MM in new money to his pact.
Going into his ninth season, Jones is coming off his sixth Pro Bowl slate and second-highest single-season yardage total. He posted a 1,677-yard season in 2018, leading the league in receiving but falling short of a third first-team All-Pro honor.
In fact Julio Jones did receive partial All Pro first team honours in 2018. As he should. Michael Thomas was outstanding but Julio Jones offers consistent high performance over many seasons. That’s what an All Pro is – the kind of guy who fills his position so well, coaches don’t have to even worry about it. Quiet Art Monk who broke most receiver all time records during his playing career had trouble making the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he just got the job done every week without unnecessary fanfare and with a minimum of circus catches.
A circus catch usually means the ball wasn’t all that well thrown.
Almost every pass by Billy Kilmer required a circus catch but Art came along too late to get in on that action.
Hey let’s sign a contract for more $$ than you can ever sensibly spend and then whine everyday because the following years someone else gets more. The league is full of overpaid cry baby’s like Julio Jones. Hey Julio try taking a family of 4 to a game on an average mans salary. Get real you jerk