The hamstring injury Julio Jones has battled this season will cost him three more games. The Titans placed the standout wide receiver on IR Saturday.
Jones suffered a setback in practice Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This continues an injury-plagued season for the recently relocated wide receiver. Jones has missed three games already this year and has a history of hamstring trouble.
The injury issues Jones encountered last year resulted in a lesser trade market, but the Falcons still collected a second-round pick from the Titans. Jones, 32, has yet to deliver for a Tennessee team that has managed to reach 7-2 despite frequent injury concerns. A.J. Brown has missed time, and Derrick Henry is now out for an extended stretch — perhaps the rest of the regular season.
Jones, 32, has caught 21 passes for 336 yards and no touchdowns in his first Titans season. He has not been able to consistently display the top form he showed in Atlanta and is now sidelined until at least Week 14. These issues come after a 2020 season in which Jones also experienced a hamstring injury and subsequent setbacks. Jones’ final Falcons season included a strained left hamstring in Week 2 and three ensuing aggravations, leading to seven missed games.
With Tennessee’s bye in Week 13, this will give Jones a month off. That could make a difference for the 11th-year receiver, who will miss games against the Saints, Texans and Patriots. The Titans sit atop the AFC and are clearly hoping this hiatus will produce a better version of Jones when he returns in mid-December.
That 2nd rounder is looking like a heist for ATL right now. But if JJ is healthy for the Titans playoff run, they may not miss it.
It was a heist either way. They cleared money off the books, got a 2nd for an aging wr coming off injury riddled 2020, and can potentially trade around to acquire more draft assets if they play their cards right.
Agreed, this was a heist. And letting Reynolds go last week makes this even worse. Why would we let Reynolds go when Julio hasn’t been healthy all year?
I believe we’re saddled with his salary for next yr as well.
For all intents and purposes, Julio has been on “IR” all season.