Julio Jones remains on the trade block. We learned earlier today that the star receiver is still available, and the Falcons would like to trade the future Hall of Famer.
While Jones missed a handful of games in 2020, these trade rumors aren’t based on his production…there are few wideouts in the NFL who can compare to Jones’ consistent receiving numbers. Rather, the Falcons are shopping the veteran for financial reasons. The front office is currently sitting with around only $500K in cap space, and they still need to sign their draft class. With Jones earning an AAV around $22MM on his last extension, he’s always seemed like the likeliest cap casualty. GM Terry Fontenot even acknowledged that the team has to consider trading the seven-timer Pro Bowler.
“We are in a difficult cap situation,” Fontenot said. “That’s just the circumstance…Our administration has done an excellent job up to this point getting us in position to be able to manage the cap. Yet, we still have more work to do.
“So, when teams call about any players, we have to listen, and we have to weigh it and we have to determine what’s best for the organization, and we have to handle everything with class. Obviously, that particular player [Jones] — we hold him in high regard. He’s special…but we have to consider [listening on] any player if it’s right for the team, because we have to do what’s right for the team.”
There are some hurdles with a trade, particularly Jones $15.3MM salary for 2021. At this point of the offseason, it’s going to be tough for teams to find the cap room to afford the receiver…and, similar to the Falcons, few teams will want to renegotiate with Jones and pile money onto the later seasons of his contract. As a result, the Falcons reportedly aren’t seeking a first-round pick for the 32-year-old.
So, considering Jones’ talent and the Falcons asking price, a long list of teams have been mentioned as potential suitors for the receiver. So, that leads us to today’s question: who will Jones be playing for come Week 1 of the 2021 season? We provided a handful of candidates below.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Jones ever since the wideout hit the block, and the connection makes plenty of sense. The team hasn’t really filled the hole on their depth chart left by Corey Davis, who signed with the Jets. If the Titans want to continue their postseason momentum, pairing A.J. Brown with Jones would make for one of the best receiver tandems in the league. Plus, new Falcons head coach Arthur Smith had spent the previous decade in Tennessee, so he’d certainly have some good words about the organization if Jones tries to control his own fate.
For what it’s worth, running back Derrick Henry made it abundantly clear on Twitter today that he’d welcome the future Hall-of-Fame receiver to Tennessee.
The downside? The Titans don’t have a whole lot of cap space, so it’d be tough to fit Jones’ massive contract on their books.
Las Vegas Raiders
Jon Gruden has been hunting for a big-name wide receiver since he joined the Raiders organization. He played a role in the infamous acquisition of Antonio Brown, and they used their 2020 first-round pick on Henry Ruggs III. In other words, the head coach would undoubtedly be a supporter of a Jones acquisition. Besides Gruden’s apparent attraction to top wideouts, the team also kind of needs help at the position; their top-three options are currently Ruggs, John Brown, and Hunter Renfrow.
The Raiders still have around $10MM in cap space, so while they’d have to overcome a few financial hurdles to acquire Jones, it certainly wouldn’t be impossible.
New England Patriots
The Patriots have made headlines for revamping their offense this offseason. The team added the two top free agent tight ends in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, they acquired Trent Brown to solidify the offensive line, and they drafted Mac Jones to compete with Cam Newton at quarterback. However, the team’s wide receivers are still a bit underwhelming. The team dished out some money on Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, but neither of those players really profile as top-end receivers.
Bill Belichick has seemingly had a love-hate relationship with receiver acquisitions over the years, as he often provided Tom Brady with too many receivers or not enough receivers. The Patriots currently have a clear need for a receiver, and Jones would certainly help their quest to return to the postseason. Plus, the Patriots are currently sitting with $15MM in cap space, which would be almost enough to acquire Jones without any funny cap machinations.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are clearly all-in on this current iteration of this team, as they’ve sacrificed their first-round picks through 2023 in order to snag Trey Lance with the third-overall pick. With that in mind, giving up a handful of non-firsts for a star receiver doesn’t seem like a huge risk when the cupboard is already a bit empty.
Plus, while it remains unseen if Lance or Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center for Week 1, the 49ers could use a player of Jones’ caliber. The team hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Anquan Boldin in 2014, and Jones would provide the starting quarterback with another Pro Bowl talent alongside tight end George Kittle.
The 49ers have more than $17MM in cap space, and they could carve out even more space if they decide to move on from Jimmy G. If any suitor has the financial flexibility to add Jones, it’s San Francisco.
Atlanta Falcons
Financial ramifications aside, keeping Jones in Atlanta also makes plenty of sense. The wideout has established himself as one of the top players in franchise history, he’s been incredibly productive throughout his career, and he’s only played in fewer than 10 games twice (of course, one of those seasons came in 2020). Plus, if the Falcons have any hope of returning to the Super Bowl with Matt Ryan as their starting quarterback, a loaded offense would certainly help. Jones would just be one of the many talented targets in Atlanta, along with former first-round receiver Calvin Ridley and the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft, tight end Kyle Pitts.
We could have listed at least a handful of other teams on this list: the Chargers, Ravens, Colts, and Packers have also been listed as potential suitors (by both pundits and bookies). But for the sake of a tidy poll, we’ll group each of those teams into the “other category.”
So, with all that said, who do you think Julio Jones will be playing with to begin the 2021 campaign? Vote in the accompanying poll, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
I think he stays with the falcons unless they get a great offer. I don’t see the point of passing on a QB this year to make another run with Matt Ryan … then trade your best player?
Obviously their cap situation is tough but it just doesn’t make much sense to me to trade him now if you’re going for a final run with Matty ice at quarterback.
Plus Julio, Ridley and Pitts would be fun to watch. Arguably best receiving core in the league.
Multiple reports he is gonna be traded in next 24 hrs to Kansas City
I would be soooooo happy
Any specific names of the sources tied to these “multiple reports”, or are they just 3 guys down at the local bar that you overheard plus a twitter feed from some random fan?
A Chiefs’ 2nd rounder would basically be the equivalent of a early 3rd round pick, so it seems like any draft pick offer they’d make would be fairly easy for another team to beat, unless they’re prepared to give up their 1st round pick
Have you seen their cap situation? I’m not sure they can sign this years draft class!
My Barber told me KC is trading, Maholmes for a 3rd rd pick to make the cap space @NickKC. Is that a source? I want to know if the story has legs.
But seriously, I haven’t seen anything definite on Julio. It’s all speculation, and I can’t see it getting done in 24 hrs
I would be willing to bet he doesn’t end up in KC. Between Tyreek, Kelce,and Julio, that would be a lot of money tied up on pass catchers.
Look; here’s my thoughts as meaningless as they may be…. If we were gonna trade him, it needed to be before the draft and Matt Ryan needed to be traded also.. then we needed to trade back from the 4th pick and just stock pile picks from all the moves. So if we r gonna draft pitts and keep Ryan, then just keep this offense elite in terms of talent and see what happens. Again, an meaningless opinion
They couldn’t trade him before June 1st. And they can’t keep him. It’s literally not possible.
It was impossible to trade him before the draft but it’s not impossible to keep him. They could cut a couple other guys and get the draft class signed. I do believe they COULD keep him. That said, I do not believe they WILL keep him. I really hope it’s not KC though. To me, the Ravens or Titans make the most sense but I believe the Patriots, Niners or maybe Raiders will be involved.
I think the Patriots would be an extremely interesting place to see Jones, and it seems like Belichick has a willingness to do it. The 9ers seem pretty unlikely, as they’ve given up nearly all of their assets (which is why they’ve been looking at cheaper receiver options), and KC just narrowly escaped their own cap issues recently. Some of these teams who traded down recently in the draft are likely too, but I’d look mostly at teams who have pursued receiver help first.
They literally had an offer for a 2nd round pick pre draft. So it’s definitely possible lol
It’s absolutely possible because contracts get restructured constantly in the NFL. There’s no such thing as ‘literally not possible’ in the NFL when contracts can be voided on a whim and restructuring is a thing.
Teams really just have to make it work this year. The cap went down for the first time in forever, and with full stadiums, it should jump back up in 22. Gut feeling is Raiders.
HoF’er or not, he’s 32 w/ injuries piling up. I mean is he worth 2nd for maybe 2 years? Also costs a pretty penny.
I think for a team that’s close and needs a WR, it’s definitely worth a 2nd. We all saw how much of a impact a good receiver can have when we watched the Bills with Diggs this past year.
I wouldn’t be mad if LV traded Ruggs & a 2nd for him.
I don’t see him being dealt, though.
Maybe I am not looking close enough but where is the link for the poll ?
I wish the pats would make this move but they want I could see him going to a team looking to go all in on this season like Ravens, Steelers, or Packers to make Rodgers happy for one yr
Pats
Would they consider Anthony Miller and picks? Asking for a Bears fan.
Julio and Allen Robinson would be sick for when Fields takes over after Dalton pulls a Mike Glennon.
I guess it would depend on what draft picks would be included…
I mentioned the Raiders as a possibility right before the draft, since they didn’t do much to address the position in free agency or the draft I’d love to see him on our squad. After the bad taste AB left in Raiders fan’s mouths we sure you could use a legit WR1 to solidify our receiving corps.
How, the Raiders are only $5 million under the salary cap and have yet to sign their draft picks.
What about Green Bay.
The Packers trading for Jones would probably be the only thing that could convince Rodgers to come back to Green Bay.
Hard to predict what would make that guy happy….I mean, they already had one of the best offenses in the entire league last year (top 5 if I’m not mistaken). Sure would help Jordan Love or whoever takes over the reigns if it wasn’t enough though
“they already had one of the best offenses in the entire league last year”
… because their quarterback is Aaron Rodgers. The offense isn’t ‘one of the best’ in a vacuum. It’s because Aaron Rodgers is the QB.
And that offense could be better. They were top five with no clear number two receiver. You don’t consider Jones an upgrade over Valdez-Scantling or Lazard? If Green Bay acquired Jones it would in large part be a move to appease Rodgers, but they do know that WR is an area of need. Gutekunst has just refused to address it until this past draft, where the Pack ended selecting an undersized speedster who likely won’t play much outside.
I think he either goes to the Colts or to the 49ers. Not sure if it’ll happen after June 1st or at the deadline but I think he’s for sure traded.
A lot depends on what they are asking for in return …..Colts might not have a first round pick to give (per the stipulations in the Wentz trade).
Three ideas hear me out.
1. Green Bay Packers, this kinda move would make Rodgers change his mind about leaving. Rodgers would have two elite WRers and an elite RB.
Packers give up AJ Dillon and Kevin King for Julio Jones. Falcons don’t have a solid RB, Dillon can be that for them. King is a good upgrade on the shaky defence too.
2. Philadelphia Eagles, this would be going all in on a hopefully healthy o line and Jalen Hurts. Philly completely change the culture in building around Hurts with Smith and now Jones, a more hard working Dawg approach.
Eagles give the Falcons Andre Dillard and Derek Barnett. Falcons new OC loves the oline and he can mild Dillard into what he wants. Barnett is also a young player a potential upgrade to that bad defence.
3. Cleveland Brown, not they need Jones but they have one of the best o lines, two good RBs, and invested heavily in the defence. Jones with Landry and OBJ behind that line would be very hard to cover.
Browns give the Falcons Denzel Ward and a 4th round pick. Browns lose a good CB but do have Newsome, Williams and Hill so it’s a loss than can afford.
The thing is with your first option that I don’t see is Green Bay giving up Dillon. They like him, as he was the only one from that class to play for the Packers last year. More importantly, Gutekunst clearly valued taking Dillon enough to do so in the second round after passing up a lot of really good wide receivers.
There’s also the obvious observation that Gutekunst did follow that up with a major receiver acquisition in free agency or via trade. This year, he picked a relatively middle of the pack pick in Rodgers in the second. Between re-signing Jones to large extension (at the expense of the best center in the league from last year) and the Dillon pick, I think Gutekunst values the running back position overall more than the receiver position, or at least sees receivers as more of a finishing piece than a foundational one like the running game. I don’t think he values adding a receiver as much as he does Dillon, who he has shown higher priority than other receivers that he’s had the opportunity to add.
I see what your saying but I’d also point out that I’m guessing they took Dillon in Jones last year on his contract hoping he could overtake him or Jones would show signs of regression. Yet Jones had a terrific season and resigned on a good contract. So losing Dillon for Julio wouldn’t hurt the running game that much, it would be a huge positive stride in making Aaron Rodgers happy and I believe would make your offence a lot stronger.
You’d have the MVP QB, a very solid RB, two elite receivers and then a bunch of talented younger receivers. Your o line took a hit but you’d just have to bank on Rodgers and Jones play overcoming that.
I mean, I agree with the logic, I just don’t think Gutekunst will do it.
The Falcons are scheduled to play both the Patriots and 49ers this season so I think it’s unlikely he would get traded to either of those teams.
Kansas City is where he will go if they can work out the draft picks sources say.
There is a bit of irony here in that the 3 WRs who were drafted in the first round of the 2011 draft were A.J. Green, Julio Jones and some guy named Jonathan Baldwin that the Chiefs whiffed on.
Jets. Jones would be a great target for a rookie QB to have.
Toronto Blue Jays