Getty Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons.
Falcons WR Julio Jones has a defensive highlight reel? Yep! And it’s something to take the time and watch. So grab your popcorn and hit play because you’ll probably watch it over and over.
Julio Jones really has a defensive highlight reel 😅
(via @thecheckdown)
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The comments replying to the highlight are either aimed towards how much of a beast Jones is or how terrible of a quarterback Matt Ryan is.
Jones is obviously incredible, and Matt Ryan…well he used to be but hasn’t performed to his best ability this season. Jones missing some time is no excuse either. Even Arthur Blank isn’t sure what the future holds for Matt in Atlanta after his plans to turn the program around starting with firing Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff on Monday.
But at the end of the day, the two are aging and getting hurt, and young players are climbing to take their spot.
Matty Ice in The Hot Seat
Quinn is out, now Matty Ice takes over the hot seat. Arthur Blank spoke to the media following the release of Quinn and reporters wasted no time getting to the point questioning if Matt Ryan has a future in Atlanta.
Blank said how much he loved Matt Ryan, though he never use his ‘Falcon for life’ phrase this time as he has in the past.
“I love Matt, much like I love Dan, I love Thomas,” Blank said via ESPN. “Matt’s been a franchise leader for us, great quarterback; one of the leading quarterbacks in the last 13 years in the NFL. I hope he’s going to be part of our plans going forward. But that will be a decision that I won’t make.
“Matt has the ability to play at a very high level, even at this age. Whether that’s going to continue or not, I’m not sure. I appreciate his willingness to consider doing that and the level at what he’s played for us for 13 years, which has been incredible. So we’ll have to see. But then again, that’s going to be a decision, at the end of the day, that part of it will be up to the player; part of it will be up to the coaching staff. And whether or not Matt can keep himself together. God willing, he’ll be able to do that and play at the level that he’s capable of playing at.”
Blank is ultimately leaving it up to Ryan earning a spot or the coaches wanting to move on.
Jones Trade Rumors Might Not Be Rumors
Several trade rumors are circulating the internet about Jones. At first, they didn’t seem true, but now they do.
Jones, 31, is still a nightmare to see when you’re on the other side and of course, when he’s fully healthy and not dealing with a hamstring injury.
However, the Falcons still have rebuilding to do and they’ll need some more cap space if they plan on enhancing their roster anymore. To do that, they’re going to need to reconstruct Jones’ and Ryan’s deals. Ryan’s contract has already been reconstructed twice. But why not trade one?
That’s a problem too. Jones is obviously the most tradeable of the two. Atlanta might be stuck with Ryan since his cap hit the next two seasons is around $40 million, or close to 20% of a team’s salary cap. Releasing him wouldn’t make sense and he’d be tough to trade.
But, the Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay said Monday there’s always a way…
“We have a lot of really good football players paid at a very high level that impacts our salary cap. That said, I’ve always believed that salary cap is something that you can maneuver around, you can work within, and you can operate within. I’m not intimidated by it,” McKay said via ESPN.
We’ll see what’s to come in 2021. Until then, admire Jones in a Falcons jersey while you still can.
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