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Julio Jones‘ time in the ‘A’ is coming to an end as early as tomorrow, June 1. The Atlanta Falcons have been in talks with several teams about potential trades this week, including the Seattle Seahawks.
In fact, Seahawks’ quarterback, Russell Wilson, has been a part of the “recruiting” process and spoke to Jones himself about the “possibility of playing together,” per ESPN’s Dianna Russini.
Moving Jones post-June 1 would save the Falcons $15 million in 2021 cap space.
If Jones were to join Seattle, he would add some more horsepower to an offense that features star wideouts D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Metcalf eclipsed 1,300 receiving yards last season on 83 catches while Lockett tallied 1,054 receiving yards on 100 catches.
Last season was a different story for Jones who had just 51 catches for 771 yards and scored three receiving touchdowns in nine games.
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Atlanta Falcons’ Asking Price for Jones
According to Mike Florio, the Atlanta Falcons have set an “outlandish” asking price while discussing trade deals for Julio Jones.
Florio reported Saturday, May 29 that the franchise is seeking a first-round draft pick and wants the opposing team to take on Jones’ entire $15.3 million base salary for 2021 in his three-year, $66 million contract, which runs through 2023.
While that seems so outrageous, Russini reported prior to Florio’s report that the team has been offered a 2022 first-round pick. However, longtime analyst Peter King is skeptical over Rusinni’s report.
“ESPN reported last week the Falcons have been offered a first-round pick for Jones,” King wrote in a recent Football Morning in America columns. “I’m skeptical of that, but we’ll see. ‘If Atlanta had that offer,’ one GM with interest in Jones told me last week, ‘they’d have made the deal and just said we’ll announce it next week.’ It could be that the Falcons may end up with a first-round pick in a future draft beyond 2022, but I believe they have not been offered that yet.”
If the report is true, you can count the Seattle Seahawks out of the deal as they don’t have a 2022 first-round pick to offer.
The Tennessee Titans are Likely to Land Jones
Russini reported last week that the Tennessee Titans landing Jones would be a “longshot,” but Florio changed the narrative in an article on Sunday and labeled the Titans as the “favorites” to snag the seven-time Pro Bowler.
The exchange? the Falcons get a future second-round pick in return:
This isn’t a report that the Titans have offered or will offer a second-round pick, or that the Falcons will take a second-round pick for Jones. They continue to want a first-rounder for Jones, with the Falcons contributing nothing to his salary in 2021 or 2022. This is simply a reflection of the current thinking among folks in the know about where this is all likely to end up.
The widespread belief that the Titans will get Jones for a second-round pick further undercuts the ESPN report that the Falcons have a 2022 first-round pick on the table for Jones. It’s possible, however, that the ESPN report was incomplete. As one source with knowledge of the dynamics explained it last night, there’s a very good chance that someone has put a 2022 first-round pick on the table in exchange for Jones plus more — possibly as much as a 2022 second-round pick.
One more sleep until we possibly have a clearer idea of where Jones is heading next season.
READ NEXT:
- Julio Jones Bluntly Puts Foot Down on Future With Falcons
- Julio Jones Interested in Playing with Ex-NFC South QB: Report
- Titans’ AJ Brown Goes To Extreme Pushing for Julio Jones Trade [WATCH]
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