National Football League

Will Julio Jones help Tom Brady win his eighth Super Bowl?

Updated Jan. 17, 2023 11:41 a.m. ET

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already had Super Bowl aspirations as they headed toward the 2022 season.

That's just a given when Tom Brady mans the ship, and although the team was unable to venture to the big dance last season, its expectations for title gold are still as high as ever.

And with the addition of future Hall of Fame receiver Julio Jones, those aspirations now turn immediately to expectations for several football folks.

Brady alone is responsible for a large portion of this confidence, but Jones joining an array of formidable wideout options – including the two-headed monster of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin – gives him unstoppable potential.

So just how strong of a Super Bowl threat does Jones make them?

According to Shannon Sharpe, it's not a particularly impressive addition.

"I give it a 3," Sharpe graded the signing on a scale of 1-10 Wednesday on "Undisputed."

For Sharpe, health is wealth, and Jones isn't a rich man in that category.

"He's had soft tissue issues," he explained, "which is hamstring, calf and quad injuries. Last year, he had one game over 60 yards, and he's 33 years of age. What Tom is going to need because they have no rapport together is practice, and the one thing Julio doesn't do often is practice, in Atlanta and Tennessee. Well, that worked fine in Atlanta because you had built up a rapport with Matt Ryan. But when you go to a new team, and there is no rapport, then how does that work?

"If Julio was healthy, of course! There was a period for five or six years, he was the best receiver in football, and it wasn't even close! He's not that same guy because of injuries, and now age is starting to creep in. Tom is going to need that repetition [in practice]. Practice is game-like. But if Julio isn't there for Tom, how do they build a rapport? Guys don't normally get healthy as they age."

Skip Bayless gave Jones' potential impact an "8" grade.

"A couple of months ago, I told you that Tom Brady had reached out to Julio, ‘please come join me in Tampa,’" Bayless reflected.

"Julio is the hardest of workers, dedicated to the craft. Julio would do everything in his power to achieve what needs to be achieved to help this team win the championship.

"Here's what I believe is going on behind the scenes: Tom told him ‘I need you to meet Alex Guerrero, because he can extend your career’ with what they call pliability. I believe he's already working with Alex Guerrero, and I've seen [Guerrero] do some pretty good stuff with Gronk. When you have balky hamstrings, it's just hard to salvage them. Will it save him? I don't know."

Jones' injuries have plagued for him at the back end of his career, but if Brady's training regimen can help preserve his athleticism, he can be a scary sight for defenses across the league.

And perhaps he and Brady can help bring another Super Bowl to Tampa.