Now that June 1 has passed, the Atlanta Falcons could trade Julio Jones at any moment. The superstar wide receiver has been linked in trade rumors for months and it appears inevitable that he’ll get moved. The Las Vegas Raiders are a team that has been linked to Jones but they’ve been hesitant to pull off big trades since the Antonio Brown debacle.
The Raiders are heading into a very important year. Jon Gruden hasn’t put together a winning season since joining the team in 2018 and he has to start feeling the pressure to win. If the team can land Jones, they will certainly be in the playoff conversation and would likely have a top-five offense.
Rich Eisen, who used to work with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock at NFL Network, believes that the team should be making a push for Jones. His simple message was “go get him.”
Why is no one talking about #RaiderNation being in the @juliojones_11 sweepstakes?
At a certain point, the Raiders will have to trade draft picks if they want to add proven talent. The team needs a winning season and Jones is the type of player who could get them over the hump.
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How Much Is Too Much in a Trade for Jones?
It’s easy to simply say the Raiders need to make a trade for Jones without knowing what the Falcons are asking for. According to ESPN’s Dianna Russini, Atlanta has already received an offer for a first-round pick.
The Atlanta Falcons have discussed several trade offers for Julio Jones, including an offer for a future first round draft pick, per sources.
There is a sense around the league a trade could go down as early as next week.
Now, that needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Clearly, the Falcons have an interest in teams believing that Jones is worth at least a first-round pick. However, it seems more likely that the ceiling would be a second-round pick. He’s 32-years-old and coming off a season where he had to miss seven games due to injury. He’s still an amazing player but a first-round pick is a bit much.
If a second-round pick gets it done, the Raiders need to make that deal immediately. Jones is the type of player who could get the team over the hump. Not many of those types of guys become available.
Raiders Can Figure out Salary Cap
One concern the Raiders might have when considering a trade for Jones is the fact that they only have a bit more than $4 million left in cap space. Obviously, the wide receiver is much pricier than that. However, teams figure out how to make things work all of the time.
The Kansas City Chiefs have kept all of their best players while also adding Pro Bowl-level guys like Orlando Brown. There’s a reason they’ve been to the Super Bowl over the last two seasons and it’s because they know how to make the money work. If the Raiders traded for Jones, they could cut running back Jalen Richard, which would open $3.5 million in cap space. The team could also restructure Derek Carr’s contract or even extend him. To be able to play with a wide receiver like Jones, it’s hard to imagine Carr wouldn’t make it as easy as possible for the Raiders.
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Former Mike Mayock Colleague Calls on Raiders to Make Trade: ‘Go Get Him’