Before Aaron Rodgers knocked him off the front page, Julio Jones was the future Hall of Famer with quite a bit of trade buzz leading into the NFL Draft.
While the shift in focus to Rodgers is understandable, we probably shouldn't close the door on a potential move of Jones before the start of the 2021 season.
Peter King of NBC Sports spoke with both Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith after the first-round of last week's NFL Draft, and left with the impression that the two-time All-Pro could very well still be dealt this offseason.
"...The one other thing I left there with is that I don't think that because Julio Jones wasn't traded on draft weekend, I don't think that means that he won't be traded. And in fact, I'd say it's better than 50/50 that he will be traded before training camp begins.
"The reason is, obviously the Falcons are basically in cap jail right now, and they could clear an awful lot of space by trading Julio Jones June 2 or after. They could separate his cap hit into two years, instead of taking it all now. So, that's why I still think there's a good chance he's gonna get traded."
Jones has amassed 12,896 receiving yards and 60 touchdowns during a 10-year career spent entirely with the Falcons. Still, the 32-year-old played in just nine games this past season and averaged just 85.7 yards per game, his lowest mark since 2012. With the selection of Kyle Pitts - along with the emergence of Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage as a pretty strong duo at wide receiver - you could see a scenario where this might be time for a divorce between Jones and the team that once drafted him No. 6 overall.
Of course, the fully-guaranteed three-year/$66 million extension that Jones signed in September of 2019 complicates things. If the Falcons traded Jones today, they'd have to take a $23.25 million dead cap hit in 2021, per Over The Cap. However, as King alluded to, if Jones is traded after June 1, the Falcons would owe just $7.75 in dead money in 2021, allowing them to save $15.3 million in comparison to what Jones will cost against the cap if he's on the roster.
Last week, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk predicted that the Falcons will release Jones if they can't find a trade partner for him by June 2. They still may do that, but releasing Jones (even after June 1) would leave them with a higher cap charge than just having him on the roster. So trading Jones, clearly, is the preferable route.
While King would go on to say that owner Arthur Blank told him that he hopes the Falcons keep Jones, it's not like he's going to say anything other than that. King seems to believe that if any of the potential suitors - he mentioned the Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders and New England Patriots - offered a second-round pick, that might get a deal done.
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