As the Falcons weigh options for what to do with the No. 4 pick in the NFL draft, another key decision looms: what to do with star wideout Julio Jones.
Atlanta is listening to offers for the five-time All-Pro selection, according to The MMQB‘s Albert Breer. Trading Jones would be part of a larger effort to shed salary and get safely under the cap—as it stands now, the Falcons wouldn’t be able to sign their entire class.
The team would take calls on any highly paid veteran, according to Breer, though trading away Jones would clearly make the biggest waves among the fanbase. Per Breer:
What would it take to get Jones out of Atlanta? My guess is a first-round pick, or some equivalent. He’s 32, but he’s still shown he can play when healthy, and the three years left on his deal are reasonable ($15.3 million this year, $11.513 million in 2022 and $11.513 million in 2023). Now, if you look at the makeup of his contract, the Falcons would want to wait until after June 1 to actually execute any sort of deal (which would soften the cap blow). But a deal could be agreed to before then, and these sorts of ideas are always batted around during draft week. So it’ll be interesting to see if anything on Jones picks up in the coming days.
A hamstring injury limited Jones to just nine games last season, though he still put up strong numbers when he was on the field. He caught 51 passes for 771 yards and three scores as the Falcons finished the year 4-12. From 2014-19, Jones missed only four games and averaged 104 catches and 1,564 yards per season.
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