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The Atlanta Falcons re-structured Deion Jones’s contract again on Tuesday, September 13.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the Falcons converted $8.5 million of Jones’ salary into a $6.8 million bonus. The restructure also includes three void years and Jones will receive his salary payout sooner rather than later. Atlanta now has roughly $9.5 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.com.
The Falcons placed Jones on injured reserve ahead of Week 1 and his future in Atlanta remains up in the air.
Jones’ New Deal Benefits Atlanta In More Ways Than One
Jones’s contract re-structure benefits the Falcons in more ways than just one, according to The Falcoholic’s Dave Choate, who broke it down.
“If they are looking to deal Jones, this might increase interest, given that his contract will only cost an acquiring team a little over $1 million in 2022,” Choate explained. “Once he’s off injured reserve, Jones might be a more attractive piece for teams dealing with injuries at linebacker and looking to inject an experienced player who once a killer pro into the team for what’s likely to be a relatively cheap cost, both in terms of the contract and in terms of draft compensation. The Falcons, meanwhile, will eat some dead cap the next two years, but will have the space to absorb that, even if it’s not exactly ideal.”
The second benefit Choate explained is that the Falcons now have some extra money to spend on some depth help ahead of Week 2 vs. the LA Rams or later.
“The second benefit is that the Falcons now have some money,” he writes. “They came into the year with less cap space than anybody else, which would be fine if their depth was up to snuff. After just one game where the defensive line reserves were largely not impressive and with the team’s stated desire to always keep churning and improving their depth, chances are that money will go to new additions sooner than later.”
Falcons Place Jones on IR
Jones headed to the IR on September 1 ahead of the Falcons’ season opener loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The 2017 Pro Bowler was set to compete for a reserve role behind third-year linebacker Mykal Walker and veteran Rashaan Evans.
Jones, who was selected in the second round of the 2016 draft by Atlanta, has started 48 games over the past three seasons, logging 652 career tackles.
Due to off-season shoulder surgery, Jones missed nearly all of training camp. He returned for the Falcons’ preseason finale against the Jaguars where played the team’s first defensive series.
Atlanta’s left guard Jalen Mayfield, tight end John FitzPatrick, cornerback Isaiah Oliver and defensive end Marlon Davidson also joined Jones on injured reserve which means they each will miss at least the next three games and can return in Week 5 at the earliest.
While Jones remains in Atlanta for now, it looks like the Falcons could be en route to finding a trade suitor by the November 1 trade deadline by re-structuring his contract deal, making it more appealing to other teams.
But despite what the trade rumors are saying Jones hasn’t been listening.
“To be honest, I didn’t even see them,” Jones said of the trade rumors, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC. “I don’t really be on social media during the offseason. But, yeah, I would have known something if it was something serious.”
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