We’ve all been waiting patiently for June 1 and now that it’s come, we will continue to monitor Julio Jones’ situation with the Atlanta Falcons. Jones requested a trade before the 2021 NFL Draft, but in the end a deal just wasn’t in the cards.
As of right now, Atlanta has been talking with teams about a trade for the All-Pro wide receiver. The question now becomes what can they get in return.
The asking price is at least a first-round pick in return, and according to Dianna Russini of ESPN, the Falcons have an offer on the table that includes a 2022 first round pick.
Now who could that offer be from?
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN had reported that the Baltimore Ravens would be interested in Jones if the “price is right.” Baltimore was in need of wide receiver help entering the draft and they even took one in the first-round with Rashod Bateman from Minnesota. That wouldn’t stop Baltimore from trading for a future Hall of Fame wide receiver.
Fowler also added that the Titans, Patriots, and Rams are other teams in the mix for Jones.
Russini mentioned that Tennessee has had talks with Atlanta, but as of right now they seem like a “long shot” to land Jones. At the same time, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that people within league circles are expecting the Titans to land Jones for a second round pick.
Peter King also reported that Atlanta is trying really hard to have another team take over his full contract so that they don’t have to pay any of his remaining money. A source also told King that Atlanta would accept a deal for a “hard second round pick” in 2022.
King could eventually see Tennessee end up getting the deal done.
According to multiple oddsmakers, Tennessee is favored to land Jones followed by the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle has reportedly had discussions about trading for Jones and it should be noted that he and quarterback Russell Wilson have talked about the possibility about playing together, per Russini. Just imagine a wide receiver room of Jones, D.K. Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett.
With the Los Angeles Rams not owning a first-round pick in 2022, Florio is hearing that they are out of the sweepstakes. Los Angeles did explore the possibility, but also realized that their wide receiver room is deep enough with Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and DeSean Jackson.
Dating back to mid-May, the New England Patriots were also a team connected to Jones. Per Mike Giardi of The NFL Network, New England has internal discussions about trading for the future Hall of Famer.
One dark horse team to watchout for is the San Francisco 49ers. Jones played under Kyle Shanahan back in 2016 when Atlanta appeared in the Super Bowl before falling to New England.
Jeremy Fowler reported over the weekend that San Francisco has come up the most in league circles as a potential trade candidate for Jones. The 49ers don’t have the first round picks to make the trade happen after they traded them away to move up for Trey Lance in the draft.
San Francisco does however have the cap space to fit in Jones’ contract. The 49ers have been known to go ahead and make the big splash year after year even when they entered the NFL Draft in 2020 without a first-round pick and walked away with Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk at the end of the first round.
It won’t matter where Jones will go, he will have an immediate impact on that team’s fortunes and make his next quarterback one of the happiest men on the face of the earth.
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