The Falcons and Julio Jones appear to be on the verge of their long-discussed extension agreement, but no deal is done. This is not a situation where the team is waiting to announce it, either, with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noting the sides have not finalized a contract.
Arthur Blank confirmed this new agreement will make Jones the league’s highest-paid receiver and considers the possibility of a deal not being finalized by Week 1 (and Jones perhaps missing that game) “remote.” It’s just not known by how much. Michael Thomas signed for $19.25MM per year earlier this summer.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll get something done, so I’m not going to focus on something that I consider a remote possibility,’’ Blank said of Jones missing the game, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. “There’s no obstacle, per se. When you’re talking about a contract for that much money over that period of time for a premier, outstanding player, it’s just very complicated. It’s not cut and dry.”
The two-time first-team All-Pro wideout did not hold out from Falcons minicamp or training camp, so it would obviously mark a course change if Jones missed Sunday’s game against the Vikings. A new contract would eliminate any mystery here, and it sounds like there’s a better chance of Jones signing one before then than not.
Jones going into his age-30 season, his ninth in the NFL, makes this deal more complicated than the ones given to younger stars like Thomas or Odell Beckham Jr. the past two summers. But the team has been clear about wanting Julio Jones to follow Grady Jarrett and Deion Jones in Blank’s “Falcons for life” vision. The Falcons freed up $5MM in cap space earlier Wednesday, further setting the table for Jones’ next deal — expected to eclipse the $20MM-AAV barrier.
Latest Development =
Well, He’s on his way.
He doesn’t know where he’s goin’
He’s on his way
He’s taking his time
But he don’t know where
Sayin’ goodbye to Rosie, the Queen of Corona
Seein’ me and Julio working out ,
down by the school yard !!
The Falcons need to be careful about hamstringing themselves with a bad contract for an aging receiver. I would guess the only remaining hang up is over guaranteed money. Falcons would be taking a big risk by guaranteeing any more than the first two years of the deal ($40M). I’m sure they’ll work out a signing bonus to spread the cap hit over the life of the contract, but they shouldn’t guarantee any more than 2 full years for a WR who is 30 years old. Julio is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but he will slow down and won’t be worth $20M/year at age 33+ IMO