Titans players weigh in on rumors that Julio Jones could be headed to Nashville
Julio Jones appears to be one step closer to flying the coop.
Starting in April, rumors suggested that the Atlanta Falcons could trade their star wide receiver this offseason in a largely cap-oriented move.
GM Terry Fontenot addressed those rumors last month, acknowledging the difficult salary-cap situation in which Atlanta finds itself and alluding to a Jones trade, saying that "when teams call about any players, we have to listen."
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Last week, a report emerged that the Falcons were indeed trying to trade Jones and had been since Atlanta’s new head coach, Arthur Smith, and Fontenot were hired in January.
NFL Insider Adam Schefter revealed Monday that the 32-year-old All-Pro receiver did in fact request a trade at the beginning of the offseason, and it appears that the Falcons’ ears are open.
Per ESPN’s Diana Russini, the Falcons have since discussed several trade offers for the seven-time Pro Bowler, including a recent offer of a future first-round draft pick from an undisclosed team. According to Russini, there’s a lot of movement behind the scenes, and a Jones trade could happen as early as next week.
The Falcons have also had discussions with the Titans, but GM Jon Robinson has never given up a first-rounder in his six offseasons with Tennessee, making a trade for Jones a bit more difficult but not impossible.
That said, the question remains: Could we see Jones in Titan blue this fall?
The team's young Pro Bowl wide receiver, A.J. Brown, who already said he would give his No. 11 to Jones, sure hopes so. He took to social media Wednesday to say that Jones joining the team would be a perfect fit, calling Jones the GOAT of his wide receiver era.
"I'm gonna sell you on some things right here," Brown began in his video posted to Twitter. "Listen to me closely. … Help me help you. Come home, Julio. Come home."
Brown kept his recruitment effort going on Instagram, sending Jones his best persuasive voice memo.
"Come vibe with me, bro," Brown said. "Come mess with your boy, man. Real talk, we waiting on you over here. You say you wanna win, right? We just need a couple more pieces. Trust me. Come vibe with me, man."
Jones — who has been MIA from Falcons’ OTAs — was spotted working out with Titans star running back Derrick Henry on Saturday in Dallas.
The SandersFit Performance Center posted a series of 10 photos of the two superstars with the caption "Saturday work" and tagged both Henry and Jones in the post.
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After losing wide receivers Corey Davis and Adam Humphries, and tight end Jonnu Smith in free agency, the Titans could be looking to fill those gaps — but not without moving some money around first.
As of May 17, the Titans have a mere $3,632,693 left in cap space for the 2021 season after signing five of their eight 2021 draft picks, including first-round cornerback Caleb Farley and second-round offensive tackle Dillon Radunz.
Also, in free agency, Tennessee signed linebacker Bud Dupree for five years ($82,500,000), defensive end Denico Autry for three years ($21,500,000) and CB Janoris Jenkins for two years ($15,000,000).
Given all of that, the Titans don’t have much money left to play with, and Jones' current contract carries a $15.3 million fully guaranteed salary for 2021, with a $23.05 million cap hit.
The Titans would need to restructure some of their biggest contracts (Henry, Ryan Tannehill, Rodger Saffold, Kevin Byard and Taylor Lewan) to create the necessary cap relief to acquire Jones.
Byard and Lewan also got in on the Jones recruiting action on social media, showing support for a potential trade.
Will the Titans listen to their players and reach deep into their pockets to acquire the future Hall of Famer?
Despite playing only nine games in 2020 due to a persistent hamstring injury, Jones racked up 51 receptions for 771 yards and became the second-fastest and 27th player in NFL history to record 800 career receptions (127 games), behind Antonio Brown (126 games).
He is one season removed from a 1,394-yard, six-touchdown stretch in 2019, the same year Jones became the fastest receiver to record 12,000 career yards, hitting that mark in 125 games, besting all-time great Jerry Rice (142 games).
Since entering the league in 2011, Jones ranks first in the NFL in receiving yards (12,896), second in receptions (848), second in targets (1,320) and tied for 10th in receiving touchdowns (60). He is the Falcons’ career leader in receptions and receiving yards, and his 95.5 yards per game average is the best in NFL history.
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