ESPN Eagles reporter Tim McManus suggests Philadelphia should not pursue a trade for Julio Jones because of their limited cap space and to let the young receivers grow.
"The Eagles are tight against the cap (about $4 million in space) and just selected DeVonta Smith in the first round," McManus wrote for ESPN.com. "The smart play for them would be allowing Smith and their 2020 first-round pick, Jalen Reagor, to develop and add a veteran receiver next season if necessary when they're ready to contend."
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The ESPN.com column focusing on a potential Jones trade and where is he most likely to end up, getting opinions from multiple different reporters and analysts around the league. The top four teams most likely to acquire Jones, according to this column, are the Ravens, Patriots, 49ers, and Titans, with ultimately a prediction of the 49ers and Falcons agreeing on a deal for Jones for a 2022 second-round pick and 2023 fourth-round pick.
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"Financially, adding Jones would be expensive, but it wouldn’t be a cap-crippling move," 94WIP Eliot Shorr-Parks wrote last week. "Jones would cost the Eagles $11.2 million against the cap in 2021, which is basically all of the room they have left. They could easily open up space, however, by redoing the deal of Fletcher Cox, who has a base salary of $15 million. Convert that money into a bonus and adding Jones would basically be an even swap financially. Plus, as we saw this offseason, the cap is very easily manipulated. If the Eagles want Jones, and Jones would come to the Eagles, money shouldn’t get in the way."