Julio Jones has been staying away from the Falcons as he pushes for a new deal, but coach Dan Quinn is confident that a resolution is on the horizon. This week, Quinn hinted at dialogue between the two sides regarding a revised contract. 

“The good news is that there are conversations that have begun,” Quinn said (via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “We’ll keep those private. I have a lot of faith in the organization and also in Julio that things will get resolved with good communications. I’m sure that’ll be a part of it as well.”

Jones skipped the team’s voluntary offseason program as well as the club’s mandatory minicamp this week. By skipping the minicamp, Jones will be subject to roughly $85K in fines.

There were contract talks between the two sides before minicamp, but that round of discussions didn’t go well. Reportedly, a contract proposal was sent by Jones’ team to Atlanta brass and the “response was not satisfactory” to Jones’ camp.

Jones is under contract through the 2020 season, but his deal is now below market value thanks to the advancement of the wide receiver market. His six-year deal worth an average of $13.5MM per year seemed substantial at the time of signing in 2015, but it pales in comparison to deals for other top WRs in 2018. Seven receivers now outpace Jones in terms of average annual value: Antonio Brown, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, Jarvis Landry, A.J. Green, and Davante Adams.

Meanwhile, the Falcons have several other players angling for extensions, with Ricardo Allen, Grady Jarrett, and Jake Matthews all also wanting new deals. They recently committed a massive amount of money to Matt Ryan‘s mega-extension, so it may prove tricky to give new deals to every key player seeking one.

Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones will not be attending the team’s mandatory minicamp, GM Thomas Dimitroff announced in a statement on the team’s website.

The statement reads “We have been in contact with Julio and his representation. We will not discuss those conversations publicly except to say we feel they have been productive and constructive. We understand the concerns and thoughts from their perspective. Although not ideal, Julio informed us today he would not be attending mini-camp. We have much respect for him and what he means to our team, our city and our fans.”

As Mike Garafolo of NFL Network points out, Jones had said last month that there was “no story to be told” when asked about reports he was unhappy with his contract (Twitter link). Jones had skipped the voluntary portions of the Falcons’ offseason program, but by missing the mandatory minicamp, he’ll be subject to fines of up to $84K if he misses all three days. When he first missed OTAs Jones said “I’m not going anywhere”, and insinuated his contract wouldn’t be a problem. The team had previously told reporters they expected Jones to show up for minicamp.

A source told Josina Anderson of ESPN that “a contract proposal was sent” by Jones’ team and that the “response was not satisfactory” from the team, causing Jones to decide to skip minicamp (Twitter link). Jones is now officially holding out from his contract that runs through the 2020 season. Despite being locked up for several more years, Jones is holding out because his salary is well below market value. He signed a six-year deal back in 2015 with an average annual salary of only $13.5MM, far below what he would fetch today on the open market.

The Falcons have a long list of players angling for extensions, with Ricardo Allen, Grady Jarrett, and Jake Matthews all also wanting new deals. They recently committed a massive amount of money to Matt Ryan‘s mega-extension and will be running low on funds by the time they lock up everybody who needs a new deal. Aside from Ryan, Jones is by far the most important player on the team, and it would be surprising if the Falcons don’t do something to sweeten his deal and keep their star receiver happy.

Julio Jones has been absent from the Falcons’ organized team activities, leading some to assume that the superstar receiver was leveraging for a new contract. However, Jones told TMZ that we shouldn’t be reading into his no-show.

“We’re good,” Jones said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “It’s not even about that. Everyone wants a story right now. There’s no story. I’m just working on getting myself better. There’s no bad blood with the team or anything like that…I’m not going anywhere.”

We heard earlier this month that Jones was seeking a reworked deal, especially after quarterback Matt Ryan signed a record-breaking extension. The 29-year-old receiver is set to earn $10.5MM in base salary this season, and there are a handful of minimal guarantees remaining on the deal. Meanwhile, his $14.25MM average annual salary ranks eighth among wideouts, and Jones is listed behind names like Jarvis Landry, Sammy Watkins and Davante Adams.

While Jones could certainly argue that he deserves to be the highest-paid wideout in the NFL, the Falcons probably aren’t looking to rip up a deal that runs through 2020. ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio said this should realistically be the wideout’s final payday, and “he may have to take a real stand” to get the organization to budge.

On the flip side, as our own Sam Robinson pointed out, Atlanta’s brass has continually been in support of Jones, so there shouldn’t be any resentment between the two sides. Furthermore, owner Arthur Blank and coach Dan Quinn have both said that they aren’t concerned about Jones’ current absence, and it’s believed he’ll attend mandatory workouts.

The receiver is coming off his fourth straight season with at least 1,400 yards, as he finished with 88 receptions for 1,444 yards and three scores. The 2011 first-round pick has made the Pro Bowl in each of his last five healthy seasons.

Julio Jones is entering the third season of a five-year, $71.25MM contract, but the All-Pro wide receiver wants the Falcons to make an adjustment to his deal, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).

Jones is set to earn $10.5MM in base salary this season, and minimal guarantees remain on this deal. The 29-year-old wideout is not expected to be with his team for the start of OTAs, Rapoport reports. He’s been training on his own in Alabama throughout the offseason.

The Falcons do not view Jones’ absence from their voluntary workouts as a major issue, per Rapoport, and are also amenable to adjusting Jones’ deal. Jones is set to earn base salaries of $12.5MM and $11.43MM in 2019 and ’20, respectively. The per-year value of his deal ($14.25MM) has plummeted, and receivers with lesser pedigrees like Sammy Watkins, Jarvis Landry and Davante Adams are now signed to bigger deals.

This does not look to be an acrimonious situation, with Atlanta brass being strong Jones supporters. The Falcons’ top weapon has stacked together four straight seasons of 1,400-plus receiving yards, and from 2013-16, Jones averaged more than 100 air yards per game.

After giving Matt Ryan a record extension, the Falcons possess just more than $5MM in cap space entering OTAs, which begin Monday.

Star Falcons wideout Julio Jones created some waves last week when he made his Twitter account private and scrubbed his Instagram profile of pictures of him in Falcons gear, though multiple reports later indicated that was simply because he wanted to create a fresh start for his social media profiles (per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). The Twitter account has since returned, but Jones has also been absent from the team’s voluntary offseason program, leading some to wonder whether he is unhappy about his current contract situation.

Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports that GM Thomas Dimitroff is not worried about any of that and believes that the relationship between player and team is in a good place. Jones has not made any public comments about his contract, though his average salary of $14.25MM is now sixth in the league. He signed a five-year, $71.25MM extension in August 2015 that made him the second-highest paid wideout in the NFL at the time — behind only Calvin Johnson — so he is under club control for another three seasons.

Dimitroff said, “Julio and the organization are doing very well. I’m not concerned one bit about any of the social media. I think we’re in a great spot. He had very good discussions with [head coach] Dan [Quinn]. And we’re in a great spot.” With respect to Jones’ absence from team workouts, Dimitroff said, “They’re voluntary, of course. Again, we feel very comfortable with where we are with Julio and how he perceives everything.”

It is unclear as to when Jones plans to rejoin his teammates, but as McClure observes, if Jones does not report for the Falcons’ mandatory minicamp in June, then there will be cause for concern. For now, however, Atlanta brass does not seem too worried, and Jones is expected to mentor the team’s newest addition to an excellent wide receiving corps, Calvin Ridley.

Jones was brilliant again in 2017, posting 88 catches for 1,444 yards (though he did manage just three scores). That marked the fourth consecutive year he cracked 1,400 received yards, and he has been named to five Pro Bowls in his seven-year career, including two first-team All-Pro nods. If he wants to talk contract, one has to imagine the Falcons will listen.