Julio Jones gave the Atlanta Falcons a decade of dominance. They returned the favor by honoring his trade request.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported the Falcons have agreed to send their star wide receiver to the Titans, along with a 2023 sixth-round pick, in exchange for 2022 second-round and 2023 fourth-round selections. The two teams later confirmed the deal Sunday.
Tennessee will take on all of his $15.3 million salary for 2021 and the remaining two years of his contract, while the Falcons assume $7.75 million in dead money, Rapoport added. Shedding Jones' larger cap hit allows them to sign their recent draft picks.
Of course, it also gives the Titans one of the premier players in the game.
Jones has been the league's most prolific receiver over the past 10 seasons -- and almost any 10 seasons. His recent play doesn't suggest he's in decline, either. He'd made five consecutive All-Pro teams prior to laboring through a 2020 campaign on a strained hamstring. Despite appearing in just nine games, the seven-time Pro Bowler still collected 51 catches for 771 yards, his 15.1 yards per catch right in line with his career average (15.2).
Tennessee will gladly take such per-game production. The AFC South champs are just 17 months removed from reaching a conference title game, but their early exit in last season's playoffs combined with key defections -- Arthur Smith shedding offensive coordinator duties for to be Atlanta's head coach is tops among them -- had lowered outside expectations. Acquiring Jones, as the Falcons can attest after selecting him in the first round of the 2011 draft, immediately raises the bar.
The 32-year-old receiver would appear to be an ideal fit alongside Ryan Tannehill, who was again one of the league's most efficient downfield passers last year. That might become a more prominent tactic for the Titans moving forward given the 1-2 punch with A.J. Brown and the workload Derrick Henry has had to carry the past two years. In fact, the All-Pro running back had publicly campaigned for the fellow Alabama product after he'd asked out of Atlanta around the draft.
Just days after the June 1 line of demarcation for a reduced cap figure, Jones is getting his wish. And so is Brown. Tennessee's promising wideout has been recruiting his "idol" for weeks, privately and through social media, going so far as to offer Jones his No. 11. Brown soon recanted after being told he couldn't have No. 1, which has been retired for Hall of Famer Warren Moon. The Titans landed the future Hall of Famer nonetheless.
Jones leaves Atlanta with a Super Bowl appearance and a plethora of franchise and NFL records on his resume, including receiving yards per game (95.5). He'll arrive in Tennessee as a fascinating piece in what could be a championship puzzle.
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June 06, 2021 at 10:47PM
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Falcons trade WR Julio Jones, future sixth-rounder to Titans for second- and fourth-round picks - NFL.com
"trade" - Google News
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