Getty The Seattle Seahawks would love Julio Jones.
The Seattle Seahawks continue to be linked to making a potential deal with the Atlanta Falcons for Pro Bowl receiver Julio Jones. Seattle would “love” to acquire Jones via trade, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The Seahawks’ 2022 first-round pick is owed to the Jets as part of a previous deal for Jamal Adams, and the team could find its lack of draft capital as a limiting factor in pulling off a move for the star receiver.
“I’m told Seattle has had a discussion about Julio Jones, certainly they would love to have him,” Fowler noted, per Bleacher Report. “You know, so you look into how to acquire such a player, what would you have to give up and could you pay such a salary at $15 million in guarantees. And so, after asking around, there would be some mild surprise from some people in Seattle if they got this done because they just don’t have a lot of draft capital, no first-round picks next year.”
The 49ers Are Among the Teams Reportedly Competing to Acquire Jones
The NFL insider added that the Seahawks are competing within the division as the Niners are also making a strong push for Jones. The only NFC West team who has not been widely linked to Jones rumors is the Cardinals.
“In fact, the team I hear most frequently when I ask of league circles is the San Francisco 49ers,” Fowler added. “They have nearly $20 million in cap space, you got the Kyle Shanahan connection. Also hear some Rams as well, so this is building up to a potential NFC West arms race. For these teams, none of them have a first-round pick next year, they give them away like church flyers. You know, they don’t mind making trades, but at some point, do they have enough capital to try to get a guy like this? And teams are going to ask Atlanta to pay some of this salary and that’s going to be a little bit of the tug-of-war in this situation.”
Wilson Has Reportedly Had Discussions with Jones About Joining the Seahawks
All this comes after ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported the Seahawks have had discussions about acquiring Jones. Russell Wilson appears to be making his recruiting pitch to Jones even though it will be up to the Seahawks front office if they are willing to take on the receiver’s sizable contract. Jones is set to have a $15.3 million salary next season as part of a three-year, $66 million deal that runs through the 2023 season, per Spotrac.
“The Falcons continue to field calls from teams interested in trading for Julio Jones,” Russini detailed on Twitter. “The Seahawks have had discussions about a possible trade with Atlanta, per sources. In fact, QB Russell Wilson & Julio Jones have spoken to discuss the possibility of playing together.”
The Seahawks would likely be looking for Jones to restructure his contract for the team to get serious about a potential deal. We saw something similar happen when the Seahawks pulled off a mid-season trade for Carlos Dunlap in 2020.
NBC Sports’ Peter King reported that a second-round pick appears to be the consensus around the league as to what the Falcons will ultimately land in a deal for Jones. The receiver’s cap hit for the Falcons becomes a bit more team-friendly starting on June 1st, so we can expect the Jones rumors to heat up in the coming days.