Last month, it was reported that the Atlanta Falcons were listening to offers for Julio Jones.
After speaking with Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot — Peter King of NBC Sports recently revealed on his podcast he got the sense that a Jones trade could come before training camp.
“The one other thing I left there with is that I don’t think because Julio Jones wasn’t traded on draft weekend, I don’t think that means that he won’t be traded,” King said. “And in fact, I’d say it’s better than 50-50 that he will be traded before training camp begins.
“The reason is, obviously the Falcons are basically in cap jail right now, and they could clear an awful lot of space by trading Julio Jones June 2 or after. Meaning they could separate his cap hit into two years, instead of taking it all now. So, that’s why I still think there’s a good chance he’s gonna get traded.”
King would go on to add that the Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders, and New England Patriots could be interested in that blockbuster trade.
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot told Justin Felder of FOX 5 that Atlanta would at least listen to offers for Jones in part because of the team’s cap situation.
“That’s one of those things that, when you’re doing things the right way in an organization, you have to listen if people call, on any player,” Fontenot said. “Especially, we are in a difficult cap situation. That’s just the circumstance, and it’s not a surprise for us. We knew the circumstance we were in. Our administration has done an excellent job up to this point getting us in position to be able to manage the cap, and yet we still have more work to do.
“So when teams call about any players, then we have to listen and we have to weigh it and we have to determine what’s best for the organization and we have to handle everything with class.”
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Jones was bothered by a hamstring injury during the 2020 season and it limited him to just nine games played. He still hauled in 51 passes for 771 yards and three scores as the Falcons finished the year 4-12.
From 2014-19, Jones missed only four games and averaged 104 catches and 1,564 yards per season.
