Ravens trade for Julio Jones would be great, but does it work?

Julio Jones is a great player on a bad team, making him worthy of trade rumors. Would the Baltimore Ravens make sense?

The Baltimore Ravens continued their trend of adding elite defensive players that wanted to get out of poor situations, as they acquired Yannick Ngakoue from the Minnesota Vikings in order to put him on a defense led by Calais Campbell up front and Marcus Peters on the back end.

While the defense, which was already elite, was just elevated to the ridiculous tier after the Ngakoue addition, Lamar Jackson’s offense hasn’t looked quite as sharp as they did last year, likely due to the fact their wide receiver room is lacking a bit in the talent department.

If Eric DeCosta is really feeling frisky, he could send a couple picks and players to the moribund Atlanta Falcons in an attempt to acquire superstar wideout Julio Jones.

Julio Jones might be exactly what the Baltimore Ravens need right now

Listing Jones‘ credentials that will one day give him a bust in the hallowed halls of Canton is unnecessary, Even in his age-31 season, he is one of the most physical and explosive receivers in the league, and his production with Atlanta could be paltry compared to what he could accomplish with Jackson.

However, there’s a problem. Jones is signed in Atlanta through the 2023 season. More importantly, his dead cap hits for the Falcons, should they trade him, are $59 million and $38.5 million each of the next two campaigns, respectively. There’s zero chance the Falcons are taking that on.

It’s unfortunate for Baltimore, because with each passing game, Hollywood Brown is looking more like a No. 2 receiver than a No. 1. While Mark Andrews is an excellent receiving tight end, the lack of any real threat on the outside that can separate and win in contested catch situations will doom Baltimore just like it did during the 2019 season. Mortgaging the future for Jones could help in that regard.

In all likelihood, this trade will not happen, as the Falcons would come into an insane amount of dead cap room that would only be rectified if Baltimore turned into the Los Angeles Clippers and gave up all of their premium draft picks for the new few seasons.

However, the Ravens need a star receiver for Lamar while he’s on his rookie deal, and adding Jones, who already has his Hall of Fame credentials and financial security taken care of, would make Baltimore Super Bowl favorites.