With trade winds swirling around Julio Jones, the long-tenured Atlanta Falcons receiver could soon be headed elsewhere. In theory, every team should be interested in Julio, a future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and among the greatest receivers, not just of his era, but of all-time. Of course, the NFL’s hard salary cap, which was reduced by nearly $20 million owing to revenue losses from COVID-19, makes trading for Jones much tougher.
The 32-year-old counts $23.05 million against the cap in 2021 and is due another $19.26 million the following year. Not many teams could afford that, though there are certainly workarounds and loopholes to be exploited, potentially alleviating the burden of Jones’ massive contract through deferred money, converting payments into salary and roster bonuses and other cap gymnastics.
At present, the Cardinals are $13.54 million under the cap. That’s a good amount, though obviously not enough to land Julio at his current salary. However, DeAndre Hopkins may have a solution. Hopkins, who matched a career-high with 115 catches last season, tweeted he’d be amenable to restructuring his contract if it helped the Cardinals acquire Jones from Atlanta.
Pairing Jones with Hopkins would give Arizona arguably the league’s top receiving duo while providing another downfield weapon for former Heisman winner Kyler Murray. Nuk didn’t specify whether he’d be amenable to a pay cut, though clearly he’s on board with the prospect of adding Jones to a Cardinals offense that racked up a considerable 384.6 yards per game last season (sixth-most).
Any trade involving Jones would likely have to wait until after June 1st, a significant date on the NFL calendar because it allows teams to spread a player’s cap hit over multiple seasons. Per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, the Colts, Patriots, 49ers and Raiders are among several teams expected to pursue Jones this offseason.
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