NFL News: Julio Jones Makes It Abundantly Clear He Wants Out

The NFL off-season is now well and truly underway. Rookies have had their mini-camps and now the rest of the roster is coming back in preparation for the 2021 season.

Every offseason, players move teams either by being waived or being traded or insinuate that they want to move on from their current team and this year is no different. First, it was Russell Wilson who incredibly went public with his frustrations at the Seahawks inability to keep him informed of decisions that were made about personnel on the team.

Then there is Aaron Rodgers and his issues with Packers executives Mark Murphy and GM Brian Gutekunst. The issues were put on the public forum when Green Bay traded up to pick Jordan Love in last year’s NFL draft to signal to Rodgers that his time as starting quarterback was coming to an end.

Now, Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones has made it clear that he wants out of Atlanta. Jones was called up by Hall of Famer and Undisputed co-host Shannon Sharpe live on air to see if he had any interest in joining the Cowboys and Jones stated he wanted to go somewhere where he could win, but stated he would not go to Dallas.

NFL reporter Ian Rapoport provided some clarity on the Jones/Falcons situation and said via his Twitter page that Atlanta and Jones met months ago, and the receiver requested a trade. Some sources say that the Falcons agreed to Jones’ terms and that they would listen to any offers that come in for the star wideout. So where would Jones go?

As happens when a player of Julio’s calibre says he is “outta here” there is normally no shortage of teams willing to offer him an escape route. Because the Falcons chose to restructure Matt Ryan’s contract and then draft tight end phenomenon Kyle Pitts, Atlanta’s offense is scary. Add to that, Calvin Ridley is due for an extension which will see him handsomely paid, the Falcons cap shape is not the best. That is where Jones comes in.

At the ripe old age of 32, Julio is set to take $23.1 million this season and that is the biggest hit to the salary cap of any team in the NFL. Jones was handed a three-year, $66 million contract extension in 2019. Because of this, should Jones be traded, he is still due $38.3 million over the next three years and that is more than acceptable for some NFL teams.

The offseason player market is not a huge one this year and because of his injuries in 2021, Jones could find his selections for a new team rather limited. Depending on how desperate a team is to get Julio, they might give away their first-round pick for the wideout who is destined for the Hall of Fame, but that does seem unlikely for a 32-year-old who has hamstring issues.

The NFL football lines for Jones’ next team have the Tennessee Titans at +175 favorites to land his signature. Whether Jones would want to start “winning” with the Titans is a choice he will have to make over the coming weeks and months.

One thing is for certain, wherever Julio Jones goes, he will significantly improve the team’s offensive threat.