Julio Jones trade rumors are heating up and these six teams are in the best position to make a trade for the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver.
There is a real possibility the Atlanta Falcons trade star wide receiver Julio Jones this summer.
Jones is already the greatest player in franchise history, but he is on the wrong side of 30 and is coming off a season where he missed seven games. Atlanta will be better than its 4-12 record from a year ago, but this team is not even remotely close to contending for a Super Bowl. According to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, these six teams make the most sense for a Jones trade.
If the Falcons trade Jones after June 1, they can reduce their dead cap hit by about $15 million from $23 million to $7 million.
Cap space, overall contention status and needing one piece to get over the top are all factors here.
Julio Jones trade rumors: 6 NFL teams he could be dealt this summer
Reuniting with Kyle Shanahan could help get 49ers back to the Super Bowl
The only NFC team Schultz listed was the San Francisco 49ers. Trading away the best player in franchise history is not going to go over well in Atlanta, especially to an NFC team led by your former offensive coordinator who didn’t believe in running the football up big in Super Bowl 51. However, reuniting Jones in Kyle Shanahan’s offense will make San Francisco an interesting watch.
This is a critical year for the 49ers. It will prove if the magical 2019 NFL season was an anomaly or not. If the 49ers can play up to their potential, they can win the NFC for the second time in three years and maybe win their first Super Bowl since Steve Young’s prime in 1994. However, the 49ers play in a brutal division and already have too many star players who get hurt all the time anyway.
Jones will help bring the best out of young star quarterback Justin Herbert
Entering the heart of the offseason, one could argue for the Los Angeles Chargers to be a Wild Card team in the AFC. The Bolts seem to have the real deal at quarterback in Justin Herbert, and have one of the most complete rosters in the entire league. However, the Chargers are one of the franchises in the league as perpetually snakebitten as the Dirty Birds and should not be trusted.
Even if adding Jones does make the Chargers’ receiving corps more complete, he is not helping Los Angeles win the AFC West in 2021. The hope is he can be the dominant receiver to help Herbert ascend to superstardom in year two out of Oregon. What also is important is we have no earthly idea if defensive-minded, first-year head coach Brandon Staley will be the least bit good for them.
Tennessee is in win-now mode and needs to offset losing Arthur Smith to Atlanta
With former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith now running the show in Flowery Branch, Mike Vrabel’s team projects as a regression candidate in the AFC. He is a defensive-minded head coach who cannot generate a pass rush and lost his offensive coordinator to a head-coaching gig after two years. Does this sound eerily familiar or what, Falcons fans?
If the Titans were to trade for Jones, he and A.J. Brown would be the best wide receiver tandem in the NFL. Unfortunately, Todd Downing is not Smith as an offensive coordinator. Just ask Raider Nation how that went in 2017. All that aside, putting Jones in the receiving corps guarantees Ryan Tannehill will not regress horribly and the Titans should make the playoffs once again this season.
Adding Jones to the Colts roster makes them a big favorite to win the AFC South
While trading for Jones would ensure the Titans of a spot back in the AFC Playoffs, adding Jones in a deal with the Falcons would almost certainly guarantee the Indianapolis Colts will win the AFC South. The receiver tandem of Jones and T.Y. Hilton would be sneaky good, and hopefully, it will bring the very best out of newcomer quarterback Carson Wentz.
Though trading for Jones probably does not make the Colts any better than a dark horse AFC Championship game contender, what it does is expand their championship window for another year or so. If Wentz cannot cut it with Jones now in the receiving corps, the Colts are free to pursue another franchise quarterback, whether that is in free agency or in next spring’s 2022 NFL Draft.
Adding Jones may solve a passing deficiency issue existing in the Charm City
The Baltimore Ravens are one of two likely trade partners for Jones in a summer blockbuster deal. While Thomas Dimitroff is gone from the Falcons organization, Atlanta did orchestrate a trade last year with Baltimore when they added former first-round tight end, Hayden Hurst, in exchange for a second-round pick.
Baltimore is firmly in win-now mode with Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Unfortunately, his run-first approach to playing quarterback has translated to one playoff victory in three seasons. Adding Jones would give Jackson no excuses not to become a more prolific passer. If Jackson can develop a quick rapport with Jones, the Ravens have the roster to go out and win the Super Bowl.
Jones to the Patriots guarantees New England will be a playoff team once again
The best place for Jones to be dealt would be the New England Patriots. He starred in college for Bill Belichick’s former defensive coordinator Nick Saban. Jones has been and always will be about the work. He would be a phenomenal cultural fit when it comes to The Patriot Way. Jones played against Cam Newton for years in the NFC South and has the same alma mater as Mac Jones.
While the Buffalo Bills loom large in the AFC East, adding Jones to the receiving corps as their bonafide No. 1 ensures us that New England will be one of seven playoff teams out of the AFC next year. They will not be a Super Bowl-contending team, but a cerebral player like Jones would flourish playing in Josh McDaniels system in Foxborough and help New England get back to the playoffs.